Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SPIRITUAL: THE LONELY MOTHER, by FENTON JOHNSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SPIRITUAL: THE LONELY MOTHER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Oh, my mother's moaning by the river
Last Line: Swaying for her son who walks in sorrow.
Subject(s): African Americans - Song & Music; Black Songs; Despair; Mothers; Negro Spirituals


Oh, my mother's moaning by the river,
My poor mother's moaning by the river
For her son who walks the earth in sorrow.
Long my mother's moaned beside the river,
And her tears have filled an angel's pitcher:
"Lord of Heaven, bring to me my honey,
Bring to me the darling of my bosom,
For a lonely mother by the river."

Cease, O mother, moaning by the river;
Cease, good mother, moaning by the river,
I have seen the star of Michael shining,
Michael shining at the Gates of Morning.
Row, O mighty angel, down the twilight,
Row until I find a lonely woman
Swaying long beneath a tree of cypress,
Swaying for her son who walks in sorrow.





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