Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE MOTHER SAINTED, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Fair girl, fond wife, and dear Last Line: And -- wait the end. Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F. Subject(s): Death; God; Mothers; Saints; Dead, The | ||||||||
FAIR girl, fond wife, and dear Young mother, sleeping here So quietly, -- Tell us what dream is thine -- What miracle divine Is wrought in thee! Once -- was it yesterday, Or but one hour away? -- The folded hands Were quick to greet our own -- Now -- are they God's alone? Who understands? Who, bending low to fold The fingers as of old In pressure warm, But muses, -- "Surely she Will reach one touch to me, And break the charm!" And yet she does not stir; -- Such silence lies on her We hear the drip Of tear-drops as we press Our kisses answerless On brow and lip. Not e'en the yearning touch Of lips she loved so much She made their breath One with her own, will she Give answer to and be Wooed back from death. And though he kneel and plead Who was her greatest need, And on her cheek Lay the soft baby-face In its old resting-place, She will not speak. So brave she was, and good -- In worth of womanhood So like the snow -- She, smiling, gave her life To blend the name of wife With mother. -- So, God sees in her a worth Too great for this dull earth, And, beckoning, stands At Heaven's open gate Where all His angels wait With welcoming hands. Then, like her, reconciled, O parent, husband, child, And mourning friend, -- Smile out as smiles the light Of day above the night, And -- wait the end. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A FRIEND KILLED IN THE WAR by ANTHONY HECHT FOR JAMES MERRILL: AN ADIEU by ANTHONY HECHT TARANTULA: OR THE DANCE OF DEATH by ANTHONY HECHT CHAMPS D?ÇÖHONNEUR by ERNEST HEMINGWAY NOTE TO REALITY by TONY HOAGLAND A BOY'S MOTHER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY |
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