The Edge
I thought to die that night in the solitude where they would never find me...But there was time...And I lay quietly on the drawn knees of the mountain,staring into the abyss...I do not know how long...I could not count the hours, they ran so fastLike little bare-foot urchins--shaking my hands away...But I rememberSomewhere water trickled like a thin severed vein...And a wind came out of the grass,Touching me gently, tentatively, like a paw.
As the night grewThe gray cloud that had covered the sky like sackclothFell in ashen folds about the hills,Like hooded virgins, pulling their cloaks about them...There must have been a spent moon,For the Tall One's veil held a shimmer of silver...
That too I remember...And the tenderly rocking mountainSilenceAnd beating stars...
DawnLay like a waxen hand upon the world,And folded hillsBroke into a sudden wonder of peaks, stemming clear and cold,Till the Tall One bloomed like a lily,Flecked with sun,Fine as a golden pollen--It seemed a wind might blow it from the snow.
I smelled the raw sweet essences of things,And heard spiders in the leavesAnd ticking of little feet,As tiny creatures came out of their doorsTo see God pouring light into his star...
And I too got up stiffly from the earth,And held my heart up like a cup...
Words in this poem
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- sackcloth n.
- Linen or cotton cloth such a sacks are made of; coarse cloth; anciently, a cloth or garment worn in mourning, distress, mortification, or penitence.
- ashen a.
- Of or pertaining to the ash tree. [See Ash, the tree.]
- shimmer v. i.
- To shine with a tremulous or intermittent light; to shine faintly; to gleam; to glisten; to glimmer. [OE. schimeren, AS. scimerian; akin to scimian, sciman, to glitter, D. schemeren, G. schimmern, Dan. skimre, Sw. skimra, AS. scima a light, brightness, Icel. ski]
- 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.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- pollen n.
- Fine bran or flour. Bailey.
- ticking n.
- A strong, closely woven linen or cotton fabric, of which ticks for beds are made. It is usually twilled, and woven in stripes of different colors, as white and blue; -- called also ticken. [From Tick a bed cover. Cf. Ticken.]
- stiffly adv.
- In a stiff manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Edge is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Ghetto, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #4332; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lola Ridge, The Edge, in The Ghetto, and Other Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4332, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ridge-ghetto/the-edge.html, id L20911.
Form and metre
The Edge is 36 lines in 6 stanzas.
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.
- 4 -----AA- dawn · world · hills · cold · lily · sunA · pollenA · snow
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I thought to die that night in the solitude where they would never find me... | 18 | ········/˘····/˘·· |
| But there was time... | 4 | ···· |
| And I lay quietly on the drawn knees of the mountain, | 14 | ···/˘˘······/˘ |
| staring into the abyss... | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| I do not know how long... | 6 | ······ |
| I could not count the hours, they ran so fast | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Like little bare-foot urchins--shaking my hands away... | 13 | ·/˘··/˘/˘··˘/ |
| But I remember | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Somewhere water trickled like a thin severed vein... | 12 | /·/˘/˘···/˘· |
| And a wind came out of the grass, | 8 | ········ |
| Touching me gently, tentatively, like a paw. | 12 | /˘·/˘/˘˘˘··· |
| As the night grew | 4 | ···· |
| The gray cloud that had covered the sky like sackcloth | 12 | ·····/˘···/˘ |
| Fell in ashen folds about the hills, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Like hooded virgins, pulling their cloaks about them... | 12 | ·/˘/˘/˘····· |
| There must have been a spent moon, | 7 | ······· |
| For the Tall One's veil held a shimmer of silver... | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| That too I remember... | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| And the tenderly rocking mountain | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| Silence | 2 | /˘ |
| And beating stars... | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Dawn | 1 | · |
| Lay like a waxen hand upon the world, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And folded hills | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Broke into a sudden wonder of peaks, stemming clear and cold, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Till the Tall One bloomed like a lily, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Flecked with sun, | 3 | ··· |
| Fine as a golden pollen-- | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| It seemed a wind might blow it from the snow. | 10 | ·········· |
| I smelled the raw sweet essences of things, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| And heard spiders in the leaves | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And ticking of little feet, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| As tiny creatures came out of their doors | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| To see God pouring light into his star... | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And I too got up stiffly from the earth, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And held my heart up like a cup... | 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.