|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
APOCRYPHA, by BABETTE DEUTSCH Poet Analysis
First Line: When john the baptist was so young
Last Line: He shaped a kiss: all day she smiled.
Alternate Author Name(s): Yarmolinsky, Avrahm, Mrs.
Subject(s): Jesus Christ - Childhood & Youth; John The Baptist, Saint (1st Century); Judas Iscariot (d. 30 A.d.); Mothers
First Line: When john the baptist was so young
Last Line: He shaped a kiss: all day she smiled.
Alternate Author Name(s): Yarmolinsky, Avrahm, Mrs.
Subject(s): Jesus Christ - Childhood & Youth; John The Baptist, Saint (1st Century); Judas Iscariot (d. 30 A.d.); Mothers
When John the Baptist was so young
That he had not yet learned to speak
A syllable of his native tongue,
The voice must have been shrill and weak
Wherewith his mother's heart was wrung.
When Jesus' fists uncurled to clutch
The shavings in his father's beard,
Before he learned to like to touch
The screws and nails his mother feared,
Small wandering hands had hurt her much.
When Judas was so frail a child
He sucked and slept, and little more, --
His mother, patient still, beguiled
The baby she must needs adore.
He shaped a kiss: all day she smiled.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
MY MOTHER'S HANDS by ANDREW HUDGINS
CONTINENT'S END by ROBINSON JEFFERS
IN THE 25TH YEAR OF MY MOTHER'S DEATH by JUDY JORDAN
THE PAIDLIN' WEAN by ALEXANDER ANDERSON
BLASTING FROM HEAVEN by PHILIP LEVINE