Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE STARRY NIGHT SHALL TIDINGS BRING, by EMILY JANE BRONTE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE STARRY NIGHT SHALL TIDINGS BRING, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
Alternate Author Name(s): Bell, Ellis
Subject(s): Night; Bedtime




The starry night shall tidings bring,
āàGo out upon the breezy moor;
Watch for a bird with sable wing,
āàAnd beak and talons dropping gore.

Look not around, look not beneath,
āàBut mutely trace its airy way,
Mark where it lights upon the heath;
āàThen, wanderer, kneel thee down, and pray.

What fortune may await thee there,
āàI will not, and I dare not tell;
But Heaven is moved by fervent prayer,
āàAnd God is mercy-fare thee well!

It is not pride, it is not shame,
āàThat makes her leave the gorgeous hall;
And though neglect her heart might tame,
āàShe mourns not for her sudden fall.

'Tis true she stands among the crowd,
āàAn unmarked and an unloved child,
While each young comrade, blithe and proud,
āàGlides through the maze of pleasure wild.

And all do homage to their will,
āàAnd all seem glad their voice to hear;
She heeds not that, but hardly still
āàHer eye can hold the quivering tear.

What made her weep, what made her glide
āàOut to the park this dreary day,
And cast her jewelled chains aside,
āàAnd seek a rough and lonely way;

And down beneath a cedar's shade,
āàOn the wet grass regardless lie,
With nothing but its gloomy head
āàBetween her and the showering sky?

I saw her stand in the gallery long,
āàWatching those little children there,
As they were playing the pillars among
āàAnd bounding down the marble stair.






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