Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AT LAST, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AT LAST, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: A dark, tempestuous night; the stars shut in
Last Line: "eureka is his name -- I've found ""a boy!"
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Birth; Faces; Night; Child Birth; Midwifery; Bedtime


A dark, tempestuous night; the stars shut in
With shrouds of fog; an inky, jet-black blot
The firmament; and where the moon has been
An hour agone seems like the darkest spot.
The weird wind -- furious at its demon game --
Rattles one's fancy like a window-frame.

A care-worn face peers out into the dark,
And childish faces -- frightened at the gloom --
Grow awed and vacant as they turn to mark
The father's as he passes through the room:
The gate latch clatters, and wee baby Bess
Whispers, "The doctor's tummin' now, I dess!"

The father turns; a sharp, swift flash of pain
Flits o'er his face: "Amanda, child! I said
A moment since -- I see I must AGAIN --
Go take your little sisters off to bed!
There, Effie, Rose, and Clara mustn't cry!"
"I tan't he'p it -- I'm fyaid 'at mama'll die!"

What are his feelings, when this man alone
Sits in the silence, glaring in the grate
That sobs and sighs on in an undertone
As stoical -- immovable as Fate,
While muffled voices from the sick one's room
Come in like heralds of a dreaded doom?

The door-latch jingles: in the doorway stands
The doctor, while the draft puffs in a breath --
The dead coals leap to life, and clap their hands,
The flames flash up. A face as pale as death
Turns slowly -- teeth tight clenched, and with a look
The doctor, through his specs, reads like a book.

"Come, brace up, Major!" -- "Let me know the worst!"
"W'y you're the biggest fool I ever saw --
Here, Major -- take a little brandy first --
There! She's a boy -- I mean he is -- hurrah!"
"Wake up the other girls -- and shout for joy --
Eureka is his name -- I've found "A BOY!"







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