June
Vision of Sir Launfal.” It finds a place in this volume because it isthe most perfect description of a charming day ever written.
What is so rare as a day in June?Then, if ever, come perfect days;Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune,And over it softly her warm ear lays:Whether we look, or whether we listen,We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;Every clod feels a stir of might,An instinct within it that reaches and towers,And, groping blindly above it for light,Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;The flush of life may well be seenThrilling back over hills and valleys;The cowslip startles in meadows green.The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,And there’s never a leaf nor a blade too meanTo be some happy creature’s palace;The little bird sits at his door in the sun,Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,And lets his illumined being o’errunWith the deluge of summer it receives;His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings;He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,--In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best?
Words in this poem
- clod n.
- A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
- thrilling a.
- Causing a thrill; causing tremulous excitement; deeply moving; as, a thrilling romance.
- cowslip n.
- A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [AS. c, c, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n.]
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- atilt adv.
- In the manner of a tilter; in the position, or with the action, of one making a thrust. [Pref. a- + tilt.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
June is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, June, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/june.html, id L25272.
Form and metre
June is 26 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 ABABCCDEDEF-F-F-GHGHIIJJ juneA · daysB · tuneA · laysB · listenC · glistenC · mightD · towersE · lightD · flowersE · seenF · valleys · greenF · chalice · meanF · palace · sunG · leavesH · o'errunG · receivesH · wingsI · singsI · nestJ · bestJ
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Vision of Sir Launfal.” It finds a place in this volume because it is | 18 | /˘··········/˘···· |
| the most perfect description of a charming day ever written. | 15 | ··˘/˘/˘··/˘·//˘ |
| What is so rare as a day in June? | 9 | ········· |
| Then, if ever, come perfect days; | 8 | ··/˘·˘/· |
| Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, | 10 | ·/········ |
| And over it softly her warm ear lays: | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Whether we look, or whether we listen, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| We hear life murmur, or see it glisten; | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Every clod feels a stir of might, | 8 | /˘······ |
| An instinct within it that reaches and towers, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·/ |
| And, groping blindly above it for light, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The flush of life may well be seen | 8 | ········ |
| Thrilling back over hills and valleys; | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| The cowslip startles in meadows green. | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/·· |
| The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘····/˘ |
| And there’s never a leaf nor a blade too mean | 10 | ··/······· |
| To be some happy creature’s palace; | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| The little bird sits at his door in the sun, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, | 10 | ˘/··/˘···· |
| And lets his illumined being o’errun | 9 | ···˘/˘/·· |
| With the deluge of summer it receives; | 10 | ··/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings, | 9 | ········· |
| And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings; | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,-- | 11 | ··········· |
| In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best? | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.