Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE STEPMOTHER, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE STEPMOTHER, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: First she come to our house
Last Line: She's purt' nigh good as mother was!
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Death; Family Life; Love; Mothers; Stepmothers; Dead, The; Relatives


FIRST she come to our house,
Tommy run and hid;
And Emily and Bob and me
We cried jus' like we did
When Mother died, -- and we all said
'At we all wisht 'at we was dead!

And Nurse she couldn't stop us;
And Pa he tried and tried, --
We sobbed and shook and wouldn't look,
But only cried and cried;
And nen some one -- we couldn't jus'
Tell who -- was cryin' same as us!

Our Stepmother! Yes, it was her,
Her arms around us all --
'Cause Tom slid down the banister
And peeked in from the hall. --
And we all love her, too, because
She's purt' nigh good as Mother was!





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