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The Gentle Traveller

Henry Van Dyke (1852–1933) · 1925

iambic pentameter · 57 lines · from The Poems of Henry Van Dyke

"Through many a land your journey ran,And showed the best the world can boast:Now tell me, traveller, if you can,The place that pleased you most."

She laid her hands upon my breast,And murmured gently in my ear,"The place I loved and liked the bestWas in your arms, my dear!"

Yes, it was like you to forget,And cancel in the welcome of your smileMy deep arrears of debt,And with the putting forth of both your handsTo sweep away the bars my folly setBetween us--bitter thoughts, and harsh demands,And reckless deeds that seemed untrueTo love, when all the whileMy heart was aching through and throughFor you, sweet heart, and only you.

Yet, as I turned to come to you again,I thought there must be many a mileOf sorrowful reproach to cross,And many an hour of mutual painTo bear, until I could make plainThat all my pride was but the fear of loss,And all my doubt the shadow of despairTo win a heart so innocent and fair;And even that which looked most illWas but the fever-fret and effort vainTo dull the thirst which you alone could still.

But as I turned, the desert miles were crossed,And when I came, the weary hours were sped!For there you stood beside the open door,Glad, gracious, smiling as before,And with bright eyes and tender hands outspreadRestored me to the Eden I had lost.Never a word of cold reproof,No sharp reproach, no glances that accuseThe culprit whom they hold aloof,--Ah, 'tis not thus that other women useThe empire they have won!For there is none like you, beloved,--noneSecure enough to do what you have done.Where did you learn this heavenly art,--You sweetest and most wise of all that live,--With silent welcome to impartAssurance of the royal heartThat never questions where it would forgive?

None but a queen could pardon me like this!My sovereign lady, let me layWithin each rosy palm a loyal kissOf penitence, then close the fingers up,Thus--thus! Now give the cupOf full nepenthe in your crimson mouth,And come--the garden blooms with bliss,The wind is in the south,The rose of love with dew is wet--Dear, it was like you to forget!

Words in this poem

aching a.: That aches; continuously painful. See Ache.
outspread v. t.: To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
eden n.: The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
reproof n.: Refutation; confutation; contradiction. [OE. reproef. See Proof, Reprove.]
culprit n.: One accused of, or ar An author is in the condition of a culprit; the public are his judges. Prior. [Prob. corrupted for culpate, fr. Law Latin culpatus the accused, p. p. of L. culpare to blame. See Culpable.]
nepenthe n.: A drug used by the ancients to give relief from pain and sorrow; -- by some supposed to have been opium or hasheesh. Hence, anything soothing and comforting.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Gentle Traveller is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Henry Van Dyke, Project Gutenberg ebook #16229; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Henry Van Dyke, The Gentle Traveller, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/the-gentle-traveller.html, id L22814.

Form and metre

The Gentle Traveller is 57 lines in 6 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 2 of the 6 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).

See other poems in iambic pentameter.

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 ABAB ran^A · boast^B · can^A · most^B
2 ABAB breast^A · ear^B · best^A · dear^B
3 ABACACDBDD forget^A · smile^B · debt^A · hands^C · set^A · demands^C · untrue^D · while^B · through^D · you^D
4 A-BAABCCDAD again^A · mile · cross^B · pain^A · plain^A · loss^B · despair^C · fair^C · ill^D · vain^A · still^D
5 ABCCBADEDEFFFGHGGH crossed^A · sped^B · door^C · before^C · outspread^B · lost^A · reproof^D · accuse^E · aloof^D · use^E · won^F · none^F · done^F · art^G · live^H · impart^G · heart^G · forgive^H
6 A-ABBCACDD this^A · lay · kiss^A · up^B · cup^B · mouth^C · bliss^A · south^C · wet^D · forget^D

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 pentameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
"Through many a land your journey ran,	9	·/˘···/˘·
And showed the best the world can boast:	8	········
Now tell me, traveller, if you can,	9	···/˘˘···
The place that pleased you most."	6	······
She laid her hands upon my breast,	8	········
And murmured gently in my ear,	8	·/˘/˘···
"The place I loved and liked the best	8	········
Was in your arms, my dear!"	6	······
Yes, it was like you to forget,	8	······˘/
And cancel in the welcome of your smile	10	·/˘··/˘···
My deep arrears of debt,	6	··˘/··
And with the putting forth of both your hands	10	···/˘·····
To sweep away the bars my folly set	10	··˘/···/˘·
Between us--bitter thoughts, and harsh demands,	10	···/˘···˘/
And reckless deeds that seemed untrue	8	·/˘···˘/
To love, when all the while	6	······
My heart was aching through and through	8	···/˘···
For you, sweet heart, and only you.	8	·····/˘·
Yet, as I turned to come to you again,	10	········˘/
I thought there must be many a mile	9	·····/˘··
Of sorrowful reproach to cross,	8	·/˘˘˘/··
And many an hour of mutual pain	10	·/·/˘·/˘˘·
To bear, until I could make plain	8	········
That all my pride was but the fear of loss,	10	··········
And all my doubt the shadow of despair	10	·····/··˘/
To win a heart so innocent and fair;	10	·····/˘˘··
And even that which looked most ill	8	·/˘·····
Was but the fever-fret and effort vain	10	···/˘··/˘·
To dull the thirst which you alone could still.	10	······˘/··
But as I turned, the desert miles were crossed,	10	·····/˘···
And when I came, the weary hours were sped!	10	·····/˘/··
For there you stood beside the open door,	10	····˘/·/˘·
Glad, gracious, smiling as before,	8	·/˘/˘···
And with bright eyes and tender hands outspread	10	·····/˘·˘/
Restored me to the Eden I had lost.	10	˘/···/˘···
Never a word of cold reproof,	8	/˘····˘/
No sharp reproach, no glances that accuse	10	··˘/·/˘·˘/
The culprit whom they hold aloof,--	8	·/˘···˘/
Ah, 'tis not thus that other women use	10	·····/˘/˘·
The empire they have won!	7	·/˘˘···
For there is none like you, beloved,--none	9	······˘/·
Secure enough to do what you have done.	10	˘/˘/······
Where did you learn this heavenly art,--	9	·····/˘˘·
You sweetest and most wise of all that live,--	10	·/˘·······
With silent welcome to impart	8	·/˘/˘·˘/
Assurance of the royal heart	8	˘/˘··/˘·
That never questions where it would forgive?	10	·/˘/˘···˘/
None but a queen could pardon me like this!	10	·····/˘···
My sovereign lady, let me lay	8	·/˘/˘···
Within each rosy palm a loyal kiss	10	···/˘··/˘·
Of penitence, then close the fingers up,	10	·/˘˘···/˘·
Thus--thus! Now give the cup	6	······
Of full nepenthe in your crimson mouth,	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
And come--the garden blooms with bliss,	8	···/˘···
The wind is in the south,	6	······
The rose of love with dew is wet--	8	········
Dear, it was like you to forget!	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.

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