Analysis of Cameron's Heart
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
The diggings were just in their glory when Alister Cameron came,
With recommendations, he told me, from friends and a parson `at hame';
He read me his recommendations -- he called them a part of his plant --
The first one was signed by an Elder, the other by Cameron's aunt.
The meenister called him `ungodly -- a stray frae the fauld o' the Lord',
And his aunt set him down as a spendthrift, `a rebel at hame and abroad'.
He got drunk now and then and he gambled (such heroes are often the same);
That's all they could say in connection with Alister Cameron's name.
He was straight and he stuck to his country
and spoke with respect of his kirk;
He did his full share of the cooking, and more than his share of the work.
And many a poor devil then, when his strength and his money were spent,
Was sure of a lecture -- and tucker, and a shakedown in Cameron's tent.
He shunned all the girls in the camp,
and they said he was proof to the dart --
That nothing but whisky and gaming had ever a place in his heart;
He carried a packet about him, well hid, but I saw it at last,
And -- well, 'tis a very old story -- the story of Cameron's past:
A ring and a sprig o' white heather, a letter or two and a curl,
A bit of a worn silver chain, and the portrait of Cameron's girl.
It chanced in the first of the Sixties that Ally and I and McKean
Were sinking a shaft on Mundoorin, near Fosberry's puddle-machine.
The bucket we used was a big one, and rather a weight when 'twas full,
Though Alister wound it up easy, for he had the strength of a bull.
He hinted at heart-disease often, but, setting his fancy apart,
I always believed there was nothing the matter with Cameron's heart.
One day I was working below -- I was filling the bucket with clay,
When Alister cried, `Pack it on, mon! we ought to be bottomed to-day.'
He wound, and the bucket rose steady and swift to the surface until
It reached the first log on the top,
where it suddenly stopped, and hung still.
I knew what was up in a moment when Cameron shouted to me:
`Climb up for your life by the footholes.
I'LL STICK TAE TH' HAUN'LE -- OR DEE!'
And those were the last words he uttered.
He groaned, for I heard him quite plain --
There's nothing so awful as that when it's wrung from a workman in pain.
The strength of despair was upon me; I started, and scarcely drew breath,
But climbed to the top for my life in the fear of a terrible death.
And there, with his waist on the handle, I saw the dead form of my mate,
And over the shaft hung the bucket, suspended by Cameron's weight.
I wonder did Alister think of the scenes in the distance so dim,
When Death at the windlass that morning took cruel advantage of him?
He knew if the bucket rushed down it would murder or cripple his mate --
His hand on the iron was closed with a grip that was stronger than Fate;
He thought of my danger, not his, when he felt in his bosom the smart,
And stuck to the handle in spite of the Finger of Death on his heart.
Scheme | AABBXX AACDDEE XFFGGHH IIJJFF KKLXLCXC XMMNNOO PPOOFF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101011011001001 1001011111001011 1111001011101111 01111111001011001 0111101101101 01111110111011001 111101011011011001 11111001011001001 1110111110 01101111 11111101001111101 01001101111011001 11101001000101001 11101001 011111101 11011001011001011 11001001111111111 01101011001011001 01001111001011001 01101101001011001 11001101011001001 0100111111001 01011101101001111 11001111011101101 11011011011011001 1101111001011001 11111001111001011 11001111111111011 11001011001101001 11011101 111001011 11111001011001011 11111101 111111011 010011110 11111111 11011011111101001 01101101111001011 11101111001101001 01111101011011111 01001101001011001 11011001101001011 11101011011001011 11101011111011011 11101011101111011 11111011111011001 01101001101011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic octameter |
Characters | 3,016 |
Words | 585 |
Sentences | 26 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 7, 7, 6, 8, 7, 6 |
Lines Amount | 47 |
Letters per line (avg) | 48 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 323 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 83 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 22, 2023
- 2:58 min read
- 105 Views
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"Cameron's Heart" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/17765/cameron%27s-heart>.
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