Flora
Rudely blows the winter blast,Withered leaves are falling fast,Cold hath hushed the birds at last.While the heavens were warm and glowing,Nature's offspring loved in May;But man's heart no debt is owingTo such change of month or dayAs the dumb brute-beasts obey.Oh, the joys of this possessing!How unspeakable the blessingThat my Flora yields to-day!
Labour long I did not rue,Ere I won my wages due,And the prize I played for drew.Flora with her brows of laughter,Gazing on me, breathing bliss,Draws my yearning spirit after,Sucks my soul forth in a kiss:Where's the pastime matched with this?Oh, the joys of this possessing!How unspeakable the blessingOf my Flora's loveliness!
Truly mine is no harsh doom,While in this secluded roomVenus lights for me the gloom!Flora faultless as a blossomBares her smooth limbs for mine eyes;Softly shines her virgin bosom,And the breasts that gently riseLike the hills of Paradise.Oh, the joys of this possessing!How unspeakable the blessingWhen my Flora is the prize!
From her tender breasts decline,In a gradual curving line,Flanks like swansdown white and fine.On her skin the touch discernethNaught of rough; 'tis soft as snow:'Neath the waist her belly turnethUnto fulness, where belowIn Love's garden lilies blow.Oh, the joys of this possessing!How unspeakable the blessing!Sweetest sweets from Flora flow!
Ah! should Jove but find my fair,He would fall in love, I swear,And to his old tricks repair:In a cloud of gold descendingAs on Danae's brazen tower,Or the sturdy bull's back bending,Or would veil his godhood's powerIn a swan's form for one hour.Oh, the joys of this possessing!How unspeakable the blessing!How divine my Flora's flower!
Words in this poem
- flora n.
- The goddess of flowers and spring. [L., the goddess of flowers, from flos, floris, flower. See Flower.]
- pastime n.
- That which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably; sport; amusement; diversion. [Pass + time: cf. F. passetemps.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- faultless a.
- Without fault; not defective or imperfect; free from blemish; free from incorrectness, vice, or offense; perfect; as, a faultless poem.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Flora is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #18044; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Addington Symonds, Flora, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/flora.html, id L11842.
Form and metre
Flora is 55 lines in 5 stanzas of 11 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AAABCBCCDDC, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 24 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 AAABCBCCDDC blastA · fastA · lastA · glowingB · mayC · owingB · dayC · obeyC · possessingD · blessingD · dayC
- 2 AAABCBCCDD- rueA · dueA · drewA · laughterB · blissC · afterB · kissC · thisC · possessingD · blessingD · loveliness
- 3 AAAABAB-CCB doomA · roomA · gloomA · blossomA · eyesB · bosomA · riseB · paradise · possessingC · blessingC · prizeB
- 4 AAABCBCCDDC declineA · lineA · fineA · discernethB · snowC · turnethB · belowC · blowC · possessingD · blessingD · flowC
- 5 AAABCBCCDDC fairA · swearA · repairA · descendingB · towerC · bendingB · powerC · hourC · possessingD · blessingD · flowerC
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Rudely blows the winter blast, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Withered leaves are falling fast, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Cold hath hushed the birds at last. | 7 | ······· |
| While the heavens were warm and glowing, | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Nature's offspring loved in May; | 7 | /˘/···· |
| But man's heart no debt is owing | 8 | ······/˘ |
| To such change of month or day | 7 | ······· |
| As the dumb brute-beasts obey. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Oh, the joys of this possessing! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| How unspeakable the blessing | 8 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| That my Flora yields to-day! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Labour long I did not rue, | 7 | /······ |
| Ere I won my wages due, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And the prize I played for drew. | 7 | ······· |
| Flora with her brows of laughter, | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Gazing on me, breathing bliss, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Draws my yearning spirit after, | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| Sucks my soul forth in a kiss: | 7 | ······· |
| Where's the pastime matched with this? | 7 | ··/···· |
| Oh, the joys of this possessing! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| How unspeakable the blessing | 8 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Of my Flora's loveliness! | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Truly mine is no harsh doom, | 7 | /˘····· |
| While in this secluded room | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Venus lights for me the gloom! | 7 | /˘····· |
| Flora faultless as a blossom | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Bares her smooth limbs for mine eyes; | 7 | ······· |
| Softly shines her virgin bosom, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| And the breasts that gently rise | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Like the hills of Paradise. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Oh, the joys of this possessing! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| How unspeakable the blessing | 8 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| When my Flora is the prize! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| From her tender breasts decline, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| In a gradual curving line, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Flanks like swansdown white and fine. | 7 | ······· |
| On her skin the touch discerneth | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Naught of rough; 'tis soft as snow: | 7 | ······· |
| 'Neath the waist her belly turneth | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Unto fulness, where below | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In Love's garden lilies blow. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Oh, the joys of this possessing! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| How unspeakable the blessing! | 8 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Sweetest sweets from Flora flow! | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Ah! should Jove but find my fair, | 7 | ······· |
| He would fall in love, I swear, | 7 | ······· |
| And to his old tricks repair: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| In a cloud of gold descending | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| As on Danae's brazen tower, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Or the sturdy bull's back bending, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Or would veil his godhood's power | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In a swan's form for one hour. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Oh, the joys of this possessing! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| How unspeakable the blessing! | 8 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| How divine my Flora's flower! | 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.