Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BONNY BROWN HAND by PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE

Poet Analysis

First Line: OH, DREARILY, HOW DREARILY, THE SOMBRE EVE COMES DOWN!
Last Line: THE HAND WHICH POINTS THE PATH TO HEAVEN, YET MAKES A HEAVEN OF EARTH.
OH, drearily, how drearily, the sombre eve comes down!
And wearily, how wearily, the seaward breezes blow!
But place your little hand in mine -- so dainty, yet so brown!
For household toil hath worn away its rosy-tinted snow;
But I fold it, wife, the nearer,
And I feel, my love, 'tis dearer
Than all dear things of earth,
As I watch the pensive gloaming,
And my wild thoughts cease from roaming,
And birdlike furl their pinions close beside our peaceful hearth:
Then rest your little hand in mine, while twilight shimmers down, --
That little hand, that fervent hand, that hand of bonny brown, --
The hand that holds an honest heart, and rules a happy hearth.

Oh, merrily, how merrily, our children's voices rise!
And cheerily, how cheerily, their tiny footsteps fall!
But, hand, you must not stir awhile, for there our nestling lies,
Snug in the cradle at your side, the loveliest far of all;
And she looks so arch and airy,
So softly pure a fairy, --
She scarce seems bound to earth;
And her dimpled mouth keeps smiling,
As at some child fay's beguiling,
Who flies from Ariel realms to light her slumbers on the hearth.
Ha, little hand, you yearn to move, and smooth the bright locks down!
But, little hand, -- but, trembling hand, -- but, hand of bonny brown,
Stay, stay with me! -- she will not flee, our birdling on the hearth.

Oh, flittingly, how flittingly, the parlor shadows thrill,
As wittingly, half wittingly, they seem to pulse and pass!
And solemn sounds are on the wind that sweeps the haunted hill,
And murmurs of a ghostly breath from out the graveyard grass.
Let me feel your glowing fingers
In a clasp that warms and lingers
With the full, fond love of earth,
Till the joy of love's completeness
In this flush of fireside sweetness,
Shall brim our hearts with spirit-wine, outpoured beside the hearth.
So steal your little hand in mine, while twilight falters down, --
That little hand, that fervent hand, that hand of bonny brown, --
The hand which points the path to heaven, yet makes a heaven of earth.



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