Analysis of Brebeuf, Ending



I wonder what price
For this journey
From textbook
To strange tongue
Tall pine
From abbey
And penance
To portage
And comrades
All hardy in line.
The trek to
The New World
So dazzling
The ocean skies
Beckoning on
And red faces
Stare at our larder
And implements
Toted so long.
They sense
There is help
In this process
The prayers
Ministrations so new
The children
All laugh in the stories
While parents see
Snows to get through
While parents tend
Fields of the maize corn
And cut needful pelts
From wild friends
And murmer
Of enemies looming
Will our Jesus
Ably defend?
Then quickly
The arrows
And shrieking
The night sky
So vast
Turned bright red
And we to
The last rites
Committals
To honour
Huronia’s dead.
Tomorrow
The hostiles so numerous
Will this be
The price of it all?
The totem
And torture and taunting
The worst evidence
Of Man’s Fall?
Dear Father
I rest in your presence
A strange
Interlude in this war
Afford me
The calm and the courage
To bless you
As never before. (1649)

Note: Try to visit the Martyrs’ Shrine outside Midland Ontario.
A stroll, a stop, a scene or two, a stained glass. A sensation. Much of the Spiritual.


Scheme ABXXCBDEXCFXGXXXHXXXXXXFXXBFIXXXHGJIBXGXXKFXAHKLJBMXGDMHDXNBEFN LX
Poetic Form Tetractys  (65%)
Metre 11011 1110 11 111 11 110 010 110 01 11001 011 011 1100 0101 1001 0110 111010 0100 1011 11 111 011 01 01011 010 110010 1101 1111 1101 11011 01101 111 01 110010 11010 1001 110 010 010 011 11 111 011 011 1 11 11 01 011100 111 01111 010 010010 01100 111 110 110110 01 10011 011 010010 111 11001 1111001011110100 0101011101100101101000
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 1,150
Words 222
Sentences 11
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 63, 2
Lines Amount 65
Letters per line (avg) 14
Words per line (avg) 3
Letters per stanza (avg) 455
Words per stanza (avg) 104

About this poem

Tells the story of some French Jesuit priests who made the long journey to the wilderness of Huron Indians. This was in the vicinity of modern day Midland, Ontario. Warfare with Iroquois tribes resulted in their martyrdom.

Font size:
 

Written on July 09, 2016

Submitted by dougb.72572 on December 27, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:06 min read
2

Douglas Blair

Blogging poems since 2008. Once a lawyer in general practice. Then 32 years as Shipper in a heavy metal fabricating plant. Retired 2022. Married and father of two. Poet. Hiker. Harmonica Busker. Gospel enthusiast. Photographer. http://shootdempix.blogspot.com/ more…

All Douglas Blair poems | Douglas Blair Books

4 fans

Discuss this Douglas Blair poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Brebeuf, Ending" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/147102/brebeuf%2C-ending>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    6
    days
    12
    hours
    3
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A brief and intentional reference to a historical, mythological, or literary person, place, event, or movement is called a _______.
    A allusion
    B metaphor
    C hyperbole
    D simile