Phil-o-rum's Canoe, and Madeleine Vercheres: Two Poems — Inside the Classic

A Canoe That Talks Back

"Phil-o-rum's Canoe" is built around a single conceit: the canoe becomes a speaking character. The poem opens with Phil-o-rum scolding his canoe for being slow, but the canoe interrupts him: "Phil-o-rum, mon vieux, wat 's matter wit' you youse'f?" From that point, the canoe dominates the poem, listing its grievances and past services. The structure is a dramatic monologue, with the canoe's voice sustained over many stanzas. Drummond uses dialect consistently—"Baptême!" and "rheumateez"—to give the canoe a distinct personality. The setting shifts through memory: the canoe recalls specific journeys on the Wessoneau, nights left on the ground, and the sound of the grey owl. These remembered scenes create a layered sense of time, moving between present complaint and past adventure.

Movement Between Scenes in the Historical Poem

"Madeleine Vercheres" moves through a series of sharply defined scenes. The poem begins with the attack: "De Iroquois war-cry ring out loud / Upon de set of sun." It then shifts to Madeleine's decision to take command, her positioning of the settlers, and the long days of watching. The poem does not linger in one place; it cuts from the fort's walls to the forest edge, from daylight to darkness. This rapid scene-changing mirrors the urgency of the historical event. Drummond also uses repeated phrases—"Won't you help me, won't you help me?"—to mark key moments. The poem's structure is episodic, each stanza advancing the action without extensive description of interior states.

Recurring Images of Water and Weather

Both poems use water and weather as recurring motifs. In "Phil-o-rum's Canoe," the canoe is defined by its relationship to water: it is a vessel, a shelter, and a companion on rivers. The canoe complains of rain running down its back and of being left to watch the moon on the water. In "Madeleine Vercheres," the river and the weather frame the siege. The poem opens with a sunset and closes with the arrival of help by water. The natural world is not background but active: the grey owl's song, the wind on the mountain, the rain that soaks the canoe. These images tie the two poems together, even as their tones diverge.

Dialect and Diction as Structural Markers

Drummond uses dialect not merely for local color but as a structural device. In "Phil-o-rum's Canoe," the dialect is consistent and heavy: "w'y," "lak'," "t'ink," "moche." This gives the canoe a voice that is both comic and plaintive. The dialect also slows the reader, forcing attention to each word. In "Madeleine Vercheres," the dialect is lighter—more standard English with occasional French-inflected phrasing like "de" for "the." The shift in diction marks the difference between the two poems: one is a personal complaint, the other a public history. The contrast in voice is the volume's most noticeable structural feature, and it shapes how each poem is read.

Readers may find it useful to read the two poems in sequence, noting how the shift from first-person dialect monologue to third-person historical narrative changes the pace and emotional register. The volume's brevity—just under 5,000 words—invites comparison between the two works. Pay attention to how each poem handles time: the canoe dwells in memory, while Madeleine's poem moves forward under pressure. The illustrations by Frederick Simpson Coburn, though not included in this text, originally accompanied the poems and may offer further visual cues to the settings.

That rainy afternoon, Drummond’s canoe scolding poor Phil-o-rum made me smile, but Madeleine’s fierce stillness lingered longer—how courage can be a quiet, patient thing. Later, browsing, I stumbled upon The Divine Vision, and Other Poems — Story, Setting & Ideas, and felt that same hush, that listening for something beyond the page.