Reconciliation
I begin through the grass once again to be bound to the Lord;I can see, through a face that has faded, the face full of restOf the Earth, of the Mother, my heart with her heart in accord,As I lie 'mid the cool green tresses that mantle her breastI begin with the grass once again to be bound to the Lord.
By the hand of a child I am led to the throne of the KingFor a touch that now fevers me not is forgotten and far,And his infinite sceptred hands that sway us can bringMe in dreams from the laugh of a child to the song of a star.On the laugh of a child I am borne to the joy of the King.
The sweetest song was ever sungMay soothe you but a little while:The gayest music ever rungShall yield you but a fleeting smile.
The well I digged you soon shall pass.You may but rest with me an hour:Yet drink, I offer you the glass,A moment of sustaining power,
And give to you, if it be gain,Whether in pleasure or annoy,To see one elemental pain,One light of everlasting joy.
Words in this poem
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Reconciliation is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Divine Vision, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #36913; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George William Russell, Reconciliation, in The Divine Vision and Other Poems (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36913, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/russell-divine-vision/reconciliation.html, id L11572.
Form and metre
Reconciliation is 22 lines in 5 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 27% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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 ABABA lordA · restB · accordA · breastB · lordA
- 2 ABABA kingA · farB · bringA · starB · kingA
- 3 ABAB sungA · whileB · rungA · smileB
- 4 ABAB passA · hourB · glassA · powerB
- 5 ABAB gainA · annoyB · painA · joyB
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I begin through the grass once again to be bound to the Lord; | 15 | ·˘/····˘/······ |
| I can see, through a face that has faded, the face full of rest | 15 | ········/˘····· |
| Of the Earth, of the Mother, my heart with her heart in accord, | 15 | ·····/˘······˘/ |
| As I lie 'mid the cool green tresses that mantle her breast | 14 | ·······/˘·/˘·· |
| I begin with the grass once again to be bound to the Lord. | 15 | ·˘/····˘/······ |
| By the hand of a child I am led to the throne of the King | 15 | ··············· |
| For a touch that now fevers me not is forgotten and far, | 15 | ·····/˘···˘/˘·· |
| And his infinite sceptred hands that sway us can bring | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| Me in dreams from the laugh of a child to the song of a star. | 15 | ··············· |
| On the laugh of a child I am borne to the joy of the King. | 15 | ··············· |
| The sweetest song was ever sung | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| May soothe you but a little while: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The gayest music ever rung | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Shall yield you but a fleeting smile. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The well I digged you soon shall pass. | 8 | ········ |
| You may but rest with me an hour: | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Yet drink, I offer you the glass, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A moment of sustaining power, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| And give to you, if it be gain, | 8 | ········ |
| Whether in pleasure or annoy, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To see one elemental pain, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| One light of everlasting joy. | 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.