Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE DARK, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN THE DARK, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: O in the depths of midnight
Last Line: And wait for me somewhere.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Night; Pain; Rain; Bedtime; Suffering; Misery


O In the depths of midnight
What fancies haunt the brain!
When even the sigh of the sleeper
Sounds like a sob of pain.

A sense of awe and of wonder
I may never well define, --
For the thoughts that come in the shadows
Never come in the shine.

The old clock down in the parlor
Like a sleepless mourner grieves,
And the seconds drip in the silence
As the rain drips from the eaves.

And I think of the hands that signal
The hours there in the gloom,
And wonder what angel watchers
Wait in the darkened room.

And I think of the smiling faces
That used to watch and wait,
Till the click of the clock was answered
By the click of the opening gate. --

They are not there now in the evening --
Morning or noon -- not there;
Yet I know that they keep their vigil,
And wait for me Somewhere.






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