Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
August 13, 1867
Spirit Of Jefferson
Charles Town, Jefferson County, West Virginia
What is this article about?
A lyrical poem expressing a woman's longing and patient waiting for her distant lover traveling a thousand miles, urging him to hurry while she imagines his approach through the forest.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
WAITING.
In reading this little poem, one feels it would be
a luxury to be a thousand miles away from his
sweetheart, just to have her think of him in this de-
licious way:-
My head is sick and my heart is faint.
I am wearied out with my own complaint,
Answer me, come to me then;
For, lo! I have pleaded by everything
My brain could dream, or my lips could sing;
I have called you lover, and called you king,
And anon of the race of men I
Come to me glad, and I will be glad;
But if you are weary, or if you are sad,
I will be patient and meek;
Nor word, nor smile will I seem to crave;
But I'll sit and wait like an Eastern slave,
Or wife, in the lodge of an Indian brave,
In silence till you speak.
Come, for the power of life and death
Hangs for me on the highest breath,
O! the lips that I love;
Only pause by the cooling lake
Till your weary mule her thirst shall slake;
Twere a fearful thing if a heart should break,
And you held its sweet reprieve!
Sleep lightly under the living moon,
Rise with the morning, and ride till noon!
Ride till the stars above!
And as you distance the mountain herds,
And shame the flight of the summer birds,
Say softly o'er the tenderest words
That poets have sung of love.
You will come—you are coming a thousand miles
Away; I can see you press through the aisles
Of the forest, cool and gray;
And my lips shall be dumb till we have met,
For never skill of a mortal yet
To mortal words such music set
As beats in my heart to-day.
In reading this little poem, one feels it would be
a luxury to be a thousand miles away from his
sweetheart, just to have her think of him in this de-
licious way:-
My head is sick and my heart is faint.
I am wearied out with my own complaint,
Answer me, come to me then;
For, lo! I have pleaded by everything
My brain could dream, or my lips could sing;
I have called you lover, and called you king,
And anon of the race of men I
Come to me glad, and I will be glad;
But if you are weary, or if you are sad,
I will be patient and meek;
Nor word, nor smile will I seem to crave;
But I'll sit and wait like an Eastern slave,
Or wife, in the lodge of an Indian brave,
In silence till you speak.
Come, for the power of life and death
Hangs for me on the highest breath,
O! the lips that I love;
Only pause by the cooling lake
Till your weary mule her thirst shall slake;
Twere a fearful thing if a heart should break,
And you held its sweet reprieve!
Sleep lightly under the living moon,
Rise with the morning, and ride till noon!
Ride till the stars above!
And as you distance the mountain herds,
And shame the flight of the summer birds,
Say softly o'er the tenderest words
That poets have sung of love.
You will come—you are coming a thousand miles
Away; I can see you press through the aisles
Of the forest, cool and gray;
And my lips shall be dumb till we have met,
For never skill of a mortal yet
To mortal words such music set
As beats in my heart to-day.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
Song
What themes does it cover?
Love Courtship
What keywords are associated?
Waiting
Lover
Journey
Distance
Longing
Patience
Love
Poem Details
Title
Waiting.
Subject
Waiting For A Distant Lover On A Journey
Form / Style
Rhymed Stanzas
Key Lines
My Head Is Sick And My Heart Is Faint.
But I'll Sit And Wait Like An Eastern Slave,
Come, For The Power Of Life And Death
You Will Come—You Are Coming A Thousand Miles
As Beats In My Heart To Day.