Heart’s First Word. I
To sweeten a swift minute soWith such rare fragrance of sweet speech,And make the after hours goIn a blank yearning each on each;To drain the springs till they be dry,And then in anguish thirst for drink;So but to glimpse her robe thirst I,And my soul hungers and I sink.
There is no word that we have saidWhereby the lips and heart are fire;No look the linked glances readThat held the springs of deep desire.And yet the sounds her glad lips gaveAre on my soul vibrating still;Her eyes that swept me as a waveShine my soul’s worship to fulfil.
Her hair, her eyes, her throat and chin—Sweet hair, sweet eyes, sweet throat, so sweet,So fair because the ways of sinHave never known her perfect feet—By what far ways and marvellousMay I such lovely heaven reach?What dread, dark seas and perilousLie ’twixt love’s silence and love’s speech?
About this text
Heart’s First Word. I is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Isaac Rosenberg, Project Gutenberg ebook #66889; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Isaac Rosenberg, Heart’s First Word. I, in Poems (1922), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66889, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rosenberg-poems/heart-s-first-word-i.html, id L02516.
Form and metre
Heart’s First Word. I is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCDCD soA · speechB · goA · eachB · dryC · drinkD · iC · sinkD
- 2 ABABC-C- saidA · fireB · readA · desireB · gaveC · still · waveC · fulfil
- 3 ABABCDCD chinA · sweetB · sinA · feetB · marvellousC · reachD · perilousC · speechD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To sweeten a swift minute so | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With such rare fragrance of sweet speech, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And make the after hours go | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In a blank yearning each on each; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To drain the springs till they be dry, | 8 | ········ |
| And then in anguish thirst for drink; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So but to glimpse her robe thirst I, | 8 | ········ |
| And my soul hungers and I sink. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There is no word that we have said | 8 | ········ |
| Whereby the lips and heart are fire; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| No look the linked glances read | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| That held the springs of deep desire. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| And yet the sounds her glad lips gave | 8 | ········ |
| Are on my soul vibrating still; | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Her eyes that swept me as a wave | 8 | ········ |
| Shine my soul’s worship to fulfil. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her hair, her eyes, her throat and chin— | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet hair, sweet eyes, sweet throat, so sweet, | 8 | ········ |
| So fair because the ways of sin | 8 | ········ |
| Have never known her perfect feet— | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| By what far ways and marvellous | 8 | ········ |
| May I such lovely heaven reach? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| What dread, dark seas and perilous | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Lie ’twixt love’s silence and love’s speech? | 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.