Cino
Bah! I have sung women in three cities,But it is all the same;And I will sing of the sun.
Lips, words, and you snare them,Dreams, words, and they are as jewels,Strange spells of old deity,Ravens, nights, allurement:And they are not;Having become the souls of song.
Eyes, dreams, lips, and the night goes.Being upon the road once more,They are not.Forgetful in their towers of our tuneingOnce for Wind-runeingThey dream us-toward andSighing, say, "Would Cino,Passionate Cino, of the wrinkling eyes,Gay Cino, of quick laughter,Cino, of the dare, the jibe,Frail Cino, strongest of his tribeThat tramp old ways beneath the sun-light,Would Cino of the Luth were here!"
Once, twice, a year--Vaguely thus word they:
"Cino?" "Oh, eh, Cino PolnesiThe singer is't you mean?""Ah yes, passed once our way,A saucy fellow, but....(Oh they are all one these vagabonds),Peste! 'tis his own songs?Or some other's that he sings?But you, My Lord, how with your city?
But you "My Lord," God's pity!And all I knew were out, My Lord, youWere Lack-land Cino, e'en as I am,O Sinistro.
I have sung women in three cities.But it is all one.I will sing of the sun.
"'Pollo Phoibee, old tin pan, youGlory to Zeus' aegis-day,Shield o' steel-blue, th' heaven o'er usHath for boss thy lustre gay!
'Pollo Phoibee, to our way-fareMake thy laugh our wander-lied;Bid thy 'fulgence bear away care.Cloud and rain-tears pass they fleet!
Seeking e'er the new-laid rast-wayTo the gardens of the sun....I have sung women in three citiesBut it is all one.
I will sing of the white birdsIn the blue waters of heaven,The clouds that are spray to its sea.
Words in this poem
- forgetful a.
- Apt to forget; easily losing remembrance; as, a forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.
- luth n.
- The leatherback. [F.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Cino is in the public domain. This text is taken from Personae, Project Gutenberg ebook #41162; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ezra Pound, Cino, in Personae (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #41162, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pound-personae/cino.html, id L01194.
Form and metre
Cino is 54 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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.
- 3 ---AA----BB-- goes · more · not · tuneingA · runeingA · and · cino · eyes · laughter · jibeB · tribeB · light · here
- 7 -AA cities · oneA · sunA
- 8 -A-A you · dayA · us · gayA
- 9 A-A- fareA · lied · careA · fleet
- 10 -A-A way · sunA · cities · oneA
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Bah! I have sung women in three cities, | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| But it is all the same; | 6 | ······ |
| And I will sing of the sun. | 7 | ······· |
| Lips, words, and you snare them, | 6 | ······ |
| Dreams, words, and they are as jewels, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Strange spells of old deity, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Ravens, nights, allurement: | 6 | /˘·˘/˘ |
| And they are not; | 4 | ···· |
| Having become the souls of song. | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| Eyes, dreams, lips, and the night goes. | 7 | ······· |
| Being upon the road once more, | 8 | /˘······ |
| They are not. | 3 | ··· |
| Forgetful in their towers of our tuneing | 11 | ˘/˘··/·/˘/˘ |
| Once for Wind-runeing | 5 | ···/˘ |
| They dream us-toward and | 6 | ······ |
| Sighing, say, "Would Cino, | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Passionate Cino, of the wrinkling eyes, | 10 | /˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| Gay Cino, of quick laughter, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Cino, of the dare, the jibe, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Frail Cino, strongest of his tribe | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| That tramp old ways beneath the sun-light, | 9 | ········· |
| Would Cino of the Luth were here!" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Once, twice, a year-- | 4 | ···· |
| Vaguely thus word they: | 5 | /˘··· |
| "Cino?" "Oh, eh, Cino Polnesi | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| The singer is't you mean?" | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Ah yes, passed once our way, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| A saucy fellow, but.... | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| (Oh they are all one these vagabonds), | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Peste! 'tis his own songs? | 5 | ····· |
| Or some other's that he sings? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But you, My Lord, how with your city? | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| But you "My Lord," God's pity! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And all I knew were out, My Lord, you | 9 | ········· |
| Were Lack-land Cino, e'en as I am, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| O Sinistro. | 4 | ···· |
| I have sung women in three cities. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| But it is all one. | 5 | ····· |
| I will sing of the sun. | 6 | ······ |
| "'Pollo Phoibee, old tin pan, you | 8 | /˘······ |
| Glory to Zeus' aegis-day, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Shield o' steel-blue, th' heaven o'er us | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Hath for boss thy lustre gay! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| 'Pollo Phoibee, to our way-fare | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| Make thy laugh our wander-lied; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Bid thy 'fulgence bear away care. | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Cloud and rain-tears pass they fleet! | 7 | ······· |
| Seeking e'er the new-laid rast-way | 8 | /˘······ |
| To the gardens of the sun.... | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I have sung women in three cities | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| But it is all one. | 5 | ····· |
| I will sing of the white birds | 7 | ······· |
| In the blue waters of heaven, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| The clouds that are spray to its sea. | 8 | ········ |
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.