Recessional
God of our fathers, known of old--Lord of our far-flung battle-line--Beneath whose awful Hand we holdDominion over palm and pine--Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies--The captains and the kings depart--Still stands Thine ancient Sacrifice,An humble and a contrite heart.Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
Far-called our navies melt away--On dune and headland sinks the fire--Lo, all our pomp of yesterdayIs one with Nineveh and Tyre!Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we looseWild tongues that have not Thee in awe--Such boasting as the Gentiles useOr lesser breeds without the Law--Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,Lest we forget--lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trustIn reeking tube and iron shard--All valiant dust that builds on dust,And guarding calls not Thee to guard--For frantic boast and foolish word,Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord! Amen.
Words in this poem
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- contrite a.
- Thoroughly bruised or broken. [L. contritus bruised, p. p. of contrere to grind, bruise; con- + terere to rub, grind: cf. F. contrit See Trite.]
- dune n.
- A low hill of drifting sand usually formed on the coats, but often carried far inland by the prevailing winds. [The same word as down: cf. D. duin. See Down a bank of sand.]
- tyre n.
- Attire. See 2d and 3d Tire.
- shard n.
- A plant; chard.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- amen interj.
- An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. [L. amen, Gr. am certainly, truly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Recessional 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, Recessional, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/recessional.html, id L25330.
Form and metre
Recessional is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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.
- 1 ABABCC oldA · lineB · holdA · pineB · yetC · forgetC
- 2 ABABCC diesA · departB · sacrificeA · heartB · yetC · forgetC
- 3 ABABCC awayA · fireB · yesterdayA · tyreB · yetC · forgetC
- 4 ABABCC looseA · aweB · useA · lawB · yetC · forgetC
- 5 ABAB-- trustA · shardB · dustA · guardB · word · amen
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| God of our fathers, known of old-- | 8 | ··//˘··· |
| Lord of our far-flung battle-line-- | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Beneath whose awful Hand we hold | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Dominion over palm and pine-- | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, | 8 | ········ |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| The tumult and the shouting dies-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The captains and the kings depart-- | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Still stands Thine ancient Sacrifice, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An humble and a contrite heart. | 8 | ·/˘··˘/· |
| Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, | 8 | ········ |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Far-called our navies melt away-- | 8 | ··//˘·˘/ |
| On dune and headland sinks the fire-- | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Lo, all our pomp of yesterday | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| If, drunk with sight of power, we loose | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe-- | 8 | ········ |
| Such boasting as the Gentiles use | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Or lesser breeds without the Law-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, | 8 | ········ |
| Lest we forget--lest we forget! | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| For heathen heart that puts her trust | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In reeking tube and iron shard-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| All valiant dust that builds on dust, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And guarding calls not Thee to guard-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For frantic boast and foolish word, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord! Amen. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
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