Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THEY THAT DIE IN THE LORD, by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THEY THAT DIE IN THE LORD, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: A little boy is bringing some sticks of wood up the stairs
Last Line: The beauty of expectancy and love.
Subject(s): Children; Solitude; Childhood; Loneliness


A little boy is bringing some sticks of wood up the stairs.
He is holding them very tightly in his arms.
He is softly shutting the door.
He is carrying the wood across the room.
He is putting it into a basket.
He sees that nothing has dropped upon the floor --
That it is kept orderly and clean.

The little boy has crossed the room.
He has seated himself in a chair.
He is alone.
He is taking a book in his hands.
It is a book that he has read many times.
It is a story that he knows.
The room is very familiar.
The chair in which he is sitting --
The rug, the pictures and the walls --
The windows that let in light and shadows for the little boy
Have always lived with him --
They are his.
The face of the little boy as he reads is calm.
The light in his eyes is deep and very still --
It does not reflect the quickening of his pulse --
It does not change with the shadows in the room.

In the chamber above the little boy
It is quiet.
Soft white draperies are floating upon air that is not seen.
Beauty has been busy in the room.
It has filled it --
It has touched it with graciousness and peace --
It is there as an inhabitant --
It is singing
And its voice is low and still.

The little boy has remained sitting in his chair --
He has continued to read.
The heart of the little boy is rich with the beauty of the room above him --
The beauty that he cannot see.
The beauty of expectancy and love.





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