Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE RAINY MORNING, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE RAINY MORNING, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The dawn of the day was dreary
Last Line: Melted in mists of light.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Light; Morning; Rain; Wind


The dawn of the day was dreary,
And the lowering clouds o'erhead
Wept in a silent sorrow
Where the sweet sunshine lay dead;
And a wind came out of the eastward
Like an endless sigh of pain,
And the leaves fell down in the pathway
And writhed in the falling rain.

I had tried in a brave endeavor
To chord my harp with the sun,
But the strings would slacken ever,
And the task was a weary one:
And so, like a child impatient
And sick of a discontent,
I bowed in a shower of tear-drops
And mourned with the instrument.

And lo! as I bowed, the splendor
Of the sun bent over me,
With a touch as warm and tender
As a father's hand might be:
And, even as I felt its presence,
My clouded soul grew bright,
And the tears, like the rain of morning,
Melted in mists of light.






Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net