Classic and Contemporary Poetry
IN THE SOUTH, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: There is a princess in the south Last Line: Would blossom as a lily might. Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F. Subject(s): Beauty; Faces; Music & Musicians; Night; Southern States; Bedtime; South (u.s.) | ||||||||
THERE is a princess in the South About whose beauty rumors hum Like honey-bees about the mouth Of roses dewdrops falter from; And O her hair is like the fine Clear amber of a jostled wine In tropic revels; and her eyes Are blue as rifts of Paradise. Such beauty as may none before Kneel daringly, to kiss the tips Of fingers such as knights of yore Had died to lift against their lips: Such eyes as might the eyes of gold Of all the stars of night behold With glittering envy, and so glare In dazzling splendor of despair. So, were I but a minstrel, deft At weaving, with the trembling strings Of my glad harp, the warp and weft Of rondels such as rapture sings, -- I'd loop my lyre across my breast, Nor stay me till my knee found rest In midnight banks of bud and flower Beneath my lady's lattice-bower. And there, drenched with the teary dews, I'd woo her with such wondrous art As well might stanch the songs that ooze Out of the mockbird's breaking heart; So light, so tender, and so sweet Should be the words I would repeat, Her casement, on my gradual sight, Would blossom as a lily might. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MYSTIC RIVER by GALWAY KINNELL ENTERING THE SOUTH by LUCILLE CLIFTON SNAPSHOTS OF THE COTTON SOUTH by FRANK MARSHALL DAVIS JULY IN GEORGY by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON O SOUTHLAND! by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON MY SOUTH: 1. ON THE PORCH by DONALD JUSTICE MY SOUTH: 3. ON THE FARM by DONALD JUSTICE A BOY'S MOTHER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY |
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