Analysis of A Gardener-Sage

Katharine Tynan 1861 (Ireland) – 1931



Here in the garden-bed,
Hoeing the celery,
Wonders the Lord has made
Pass ever before me.
I see the young birds build,
And swallows come and go,
And summer grow and gild,
And winter die in snow.

Many a thing I note,
And store it in my mind,
For all my ragged coat
That scarce will stop the wind.
I light my pipe and draw,
And, leaning on my spade,
I marvel with much awe
O'er all the Lord hath made.

Now, here's a curious thing:
Upon the first of March
The crow goes house-building
In the elm and in the larch.
And be it shine or snow,
Though many winds carouse,
That day the artful crow
Begins to build his house.

But then­the wonder's big !
If Sunday fell that day,
Nor straw, nor screw, nor twig,
Till Monday would he lay.
His black wings to his side,
He'd drone upon his perch,
Subdued and holy-eyed
As though he were in church.

The crow's a gentleman
Not greatly to my mind,
He'll steal what seeds he can,
And all you hide he'll find.
Yet though he's bully and sneak,
To small birds, bird of prey,
He counts the days of the week,
And keeps the Sabbath Day.


Scheme XABACDCD EFEFXBXB GHGHDXDX IJIJKLKL XFXFMJMJ
Poetic Form Etheree  (30%)
Metre 100101 100100 100111 110011 110111 010101 010101 010101 100111 011011 111101 111101 111101 010111 110111 1010111 1101001 010111 011110 0010001 011111 110101 110101 011111 110101 11111 111111 110111 111111 110111 010101 111001 010100 110111 111111 011111 1111001 111111 1101101 010101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,065
Words 209
Sentences 12
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 40
Letters per line (avg) 20
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 161
Words per stanza (avg) 42
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:05 min read
28

Katharine Tynan

Katharine Tynan was an Irish-born writer, known mainly for her novels and poetry. more…

All Katharine Tynan poems | Katharine Tynan Books

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