Sent to Heaven
I had a Message to send her,To her whom my soul loved best;But I had my task to finish.And she was gone home to rest.
To rest in the far bright heaven:Oh, so far away from here,It was vain to speak to my darling,For I knew she could not hear!
I had a message to send her.So tender, and true, and sweet,I longed for an Angel to bear it,And lay it down at her feet.
I placed it, one summer evening,On a Cloudlet's fleecy breast;But it faded in golden splendour,And died in the crimson west.
I gave it the Lark next morning,And I watched it soar and soar;But its pinions grew faint and weary,And it fluttered to earth once more.
To the heart of a Rose I told it;And the perfume, sweet and rare,Growing faint on the blue bright ether,Was lost in the balmy air.
I laid it upon a Censer,And I saw the incense rise;But its clouds of rolling silverCould not reach the far blue skies.
I cried, in my passionate longing:-"Has the earth no Angel-friendWho will carry my love the messageThat my heart desires to send?"
Then I heard a strain of music,So mighty, so pure, so clear,That my very sorrow was silent,And my heart stood still to hear.
And I felt, in my soul's deep yearning,At last the sure answer stir:-"The music will go up to Heaven,And carry my thought to her."
It rose in harmonious rushingOf mingled voices and strings.And I tenderly laid my messageOn the Music's outspread wings.
I heard it float farther and farther,In sound more perfect than speech;Farther than sight can follow.Farther than soul can reach.
And I know that at last my messageHas passed through the golden gate:So my heart is no longer restless,And I am content to wait.
Words in this poem
- fleecy a.
- Covered with, made of, or resembling, a fleece.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- balmy a.
- Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
- censer n.
- A vessel for perfumes; esp. one in which incense is burned. [For incenser, fr. OF. encensier, F. encensoir, fr. LL. incensarium, incensorium, fr. L. incensum incense. See Incense, and cf. Incensory.]
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sent to Heaven is in the public domain. This text is taken from Legends and Lyrics. Part 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #2304; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Adelaide Anne Procter, Sent to Heaven, in Legends and Lyrics: Second Series (1861), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2304, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/procter-legends-lyrics/sent-to-heaven.html, id L21780.
Form and metre
Sent to Heaven is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A her · bestA · finish · restA
- 2 -A-A heaven · hereA · darling · hearA
- 3 -A-A her · sweetA · it · feetA
- 4 -A-A evening · breastA · splendour · westA
- 5 -A-A morning · soarA · weary · moreA
- 6 -A-A it · rareA · ether · airA
- 7 -A-A censer · riseA · silver · skiesA
- 8 -A-A longing · friendA · message · sendA
- 9 -A-A music · clearA · silent · hearA
- 10 -A-A yearning · stirA · heaven · herA
- 11 -A-A rushing · stringsA · message · wingsA
- 12 -A-A farther · speechA · follow · reachA
- 13 -A-A message · gateA · restless · waitA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I had a Message to send her, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To her whom my soul loved best; | 7 | ······· |
| But I had my task to finish. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And she was gone home to rest. | 7 | ······· |
| To rest in the far bright heaven: | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Oh, so far away from here, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| It was vain to speak to my darling, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| For I knew she could not hear! | 7 | ······· |
| I had a message to send her. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So tender, and true, and sweet, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| I longed for an Angel to bear it, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| And lay it down at her feet. | 7 | ······· |
| I placed it, one summer evening, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| On a Cloudlet's fleecy breast; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But it faded in golden splendour, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘/˘ |
| And died in the crimson west. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I gave it the Lark next morning, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And I watched it soar and soar; | 7 | ······· |
| But its pinions grew faint and weary, | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| And it fluttered to earth once more. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| To the heart of a Rose I told it; | 9 | ········· |
| And the perfume, sweet and rare, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Growing faint on the blue bright ether, | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| Was lost in the balmy air. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I laid it upon a Censer, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And I saw the incense rise; | 7 | ····˘/· |
| But its clouds of rolling silver | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Could not reach the far blue skies. | 7 | ······· |
| I cried, in my passionate longing:- | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| "Has the earth no Angel-friend | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Who will carry my love the message | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| That my heart desires to send?" | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Then I heard a strain of music, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| So mighty, so pure, so clear, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| That my very sorrow was silent, | 9 | ··/˘/˘·/˘ |
| And my heart stood still to hear. | 7 | ······· |
| And I felt, in my soul's deep yearning, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| At last the sure answer stir:- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "The music will go up to Heaven, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And carry my thought to her." | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| It rose in harmonious rushing | 9 | ···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Of mingled voices and strings. | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| And I tenderly laid my message | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| On the Music's outspread wings. | 7 | ··/˘˘/· |
| I heard it float farther and farther, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| In sound more perfect than speech; | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Farther than sight can follow. | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| Farther than soul can reach. | 6 | /˘···· |
| And I know that at last my message | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Has passed through the golden gate: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| So my heart is no longer restless, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And I am content to wait. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
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.