Moses
Fine! Fine!See, in my brainWhat madmen have rushed throughAnd like a tornadoTorn up the tight rootsOf some dead universe:The old clay is brokenFor a power to soak in and knitIt all into tougher tissuesTo hold life;Pricking my nerves till the brain might crackIt boils to my finger-tips,Till my hands ache to gripThe hammer—the lone hammerThat breaks lives into a roadThrough which my genius drives.Pharaoh well peruked and oiled,And your admirable pyramids,And your interminable processionOf crowded kings,You are my little fishing rodsWherewith I catch the fishTo suit my hungry belly.I am rough now, and new, and will have no tailor.Startlingly,As a mountain-sideWakes aware of its other sideWhen from a cave a leopard comes,On its heels the same red sand,Springing with acquainted air,Sprang an intelligenceColoured as a whim of mine,Showed to my dull outer eyesThe living eyes underneath.Did I not shrivel up and take the place of air,Secret as those eyes were,And those strong eyes call up a giant frame?And I am that now.
Pharaoh is sleek and deep;And where his love for me is set—underThe deeps, on their floor, or in the shallow ways,Though I have been as a diver—never yetCould I find.... I have a way, a touchstone!A small misdemeanour, touch of rebelliousness;To prick the vein of father, monitor, foe,Will tell which of these his kingship is.If I shut my eyes to the edict,And leave the pincers to rustAnd the slaves’ teeth as God made them,Then hide from the summoning tribunal,Pharaoh will speak; and I’ll seize that word to act.Should the word be a foe’s I can use it wellAs a poison to soak into Egypt’s bowels;A wraith from old Nile will cry“For his mercy they break his back”And I shall have a great following for this,The rude, touched heart of the mauled, sweaty horde,Their rough tongues fawn at my hands, their red-streaked eyesGlitter with sacrifice. Well! Pharaoh bids me act....Hah! I’m all a-bristle.... Lord, his eyes would go wideIf he knew the road my rampant dreams would race!I am too much awake now—restless, so restless.Behind white mists invisiblyMy thoughts stood like a mountain;But Power, watching as a man,Saw no mountain there—Only the mixing mist and skyAnd the flat earth.What shoulder pushed through those mistsOf gay fantastic pastimesAnd startled hills of sleep?
Oh, apparition of me,Ruddy flesh soon hueless,Fade and show to my eyesThe lasting bare body;Soul-sack fall awayAnd show what you hold!Sing! Let me hear you sing.
Words in this poem 18
- rushed a.
- Abounding or covered with rushes.
- ache n.
- A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. Holland. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- pharaoh n.
- A title by which the sovereigns of ancient Egypt were designated. [Heb. paroh; of Egyptian origin: cf. L. pharao, Gr. Faro.]
- oiled a.
- Covered or treated with oil; dressed with, or soaked in, oil.
- admirable a.
- Fitted to excite wonder; wonderful; marvelous. [L. admirabilis: cf. F. admirable.]
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
- startlingly adv.
- In a startling manner.
- coloured a.
- Having color; tinged; dyed; painted; stained.
- touchstone n.
- Lydian stone; basanite; -- so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite.
- misdemeanour n.
- Ill behavior; evil conduct; fault.
- kingship n.
- The state, office, or dignity of a king; royalty. Landor.
- wraith n.
- An apparition of a person in his exact likeness, seen before death, or a little after; hence, an apparition; a specter; a vision; an unreal image. [Scot. wraith, warth; probably originally, a guardian angel, from Icel. vörthr a warden, guardian, akin to E. ward. See Ward a guard.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- sweaty a.
- Moist with sweat; as, a sweaty skin; a sweaty garment.
- horde n.
- A wandering troop or gang; especially, a clan or tribe of a nomadic people migrating from place to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, etc.; a predatory multitude. Thomson. [F. horde (cf. G. horde), fr. Turk. ord, ordi, camp; of Tartar origin.]
- invisibly adv.
- In an invisible manner, Denham.
- hueless a.
- Destitute of color. Hudibras. [AS. hiwleás. See Hue color.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Moses 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, Moses, in Poems (1922), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66889, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rosenberg-poems/moses.html, id L02483.
Form and metre
Moses is 78 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% 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 -----------------A--A----------------- fine · brain · through · tornado · roots · universe · broken · knit · tissues · life · crack · tips · grip · hammer · road · drives · oiled · pyramidsA · procession · kings · rodsA · fish · belly · tailor · startlingly · side · side · comes · sand · air · intelligence · mine · eyes · underneath · air · were · frame · now
- 2 --------A--BAB--------CC-DD------ deep · under · ways · yet · touchstone · rebelliousness · foe · is · edictA · rust · them · tribunalB · actA · wellB · bowels · cry · back · this · horde · eyes · act · wide · raceC · restlessC · invisibly · mountainD · manD · there · sky · earth · mists · pastimes · sleep
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fine! Fine! | 2 | ·· |
| See, in my brain | 4 | ···· |
| What madmen have rushed through | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And like a tornado | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Torn up the tight roots | 5 | ····· |
| Of some dead universe: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The old clay is broken | 6 | ····/˘ |
| For a power to soak in and knit | 8 | ··/····· |
| It all into tougher tissues | 8 | ····/˘/· |
| To hold life; | 3 | ··· |
| Pricking my nerves till the brain might crack | 9 | /˘······· |
| It boils to my finger-tips, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Till my hands ache to grip | 6 | ······ |
| The hammer—the lone hammer | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| That breaks lives into a road | 7 | ······· |
| Through which my genius drives. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Pharaoh well peruked and oiled, | 7 | /˘····· |
| And your admirable pyramids, | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| And your interminable procession | 8 | ··˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Of crowded kings, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| You are my little fishing rods | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Wherewith I catch the fish | 6 | ˘/···· |
| To suit my hungry belly. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| I am rough now, and new, and will have no tailor. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Startlingly, | 3 | /˘˘ |
| As a mountain-side | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Wakes aware of its other side | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| When from a cave a leopard comes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On its heels the same red sand, | 7 | ······· |
| Springing with acquainted air, | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| Sprang an intelligence | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Coloured as a whim of mine, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Showed to my dull outer eyes | 6 | ····/· |
| The living eyes underneath. | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| Did I not shrivel up and take the place of air, | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Secret as those eyes were, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And those strong eyes call up a giant frame? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And I am that now. | 5 | ····· |
| Pharaoh is sleek and deep; | 6 | /˘···· |
| And where his love for me is set—under | 10 | ·········· |
| The deeps, on their floor, or in the shallow ways, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Though I have been as a diver—never yet | 9 | ······//· |
| Could I find.... I have a way, a touchstone! | 10 | ········/· |
| A small misdemeanour, touch of rebelliousness; | 11 | ···˘/˘··˘/˘ |
| To prick the vein of father, monitor, foe, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Will tell which of these his kingship is. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| If I shut my eyes to the edict, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And leave the pincers to rust | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And the slaves’ teeth as God made them, | 8 | ········ |
| Then hide from the summoning tribunal, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Pharaoh will speak; and I’ll seize that word to act. | 11 | /˘········· |
| Should the word be a foe’s I can use it well | 11 | ··········· |
| As a poison to soak into Egypt’s bowels; | 12 | ··/˘····/˘/˘ |
| A wraith from old Nile will cry | 7 | ······· |
| “For his mercy they break his back” | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| And I shall have a great following for this, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| The rude, touched heart of the mauled, sweaty horde, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Their rough tongues fawn at my hands, their red-streaked eyes | 11 | ··········· |
| Glitter with sacrifice. Well! Pharaoh bids me act.... | 12 | /˘·/˘··/˘··· |
| Hah! I’m all a-bristle.... Lord, his eyes would go wide | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| If he knew the road my rampant dreams would race! | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| I am too much awake now—restless, so restless. | 12 | ····˘/·/˘·/˘ |
| Behind white mists invisibly | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| My thoughts stood like a mountain; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But Power, watching as a man, | 7 | ·//˘··· |
| Saw no mountain there— | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Only the mixing mist and sky | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| And the flat earth. | 4 | ···· |
| What shoulder pushed through those mists | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Of gay fantastic pastimes | 7 | ··˘/˘/· |
| And startled hills of sleep? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Oh, apparition of me, | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| Ruddy flesh soon hueless, | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Fade and show to my eyes | 6 | ······ |
| The lasting bare body; | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Soul-sack fall away | 5 | ···˘/ |
| And show what you hold! | 5 | ····· |
| Sing! Let me hear you sing. | 6 | ······ |
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.