#MIDDLEBURY
The Birthnight
Walter de la Mare
Dearest, it was a night
That in its darkness rocked Orion’s stars;
A sighing wind ran faintly white
Along the willows, and the cedar boughs
Laid their wide hands in stealthy peace across
The starry silence of their antique moss:
No sound save rushing air
Cold, yet all sweet with Spring,
And in thy mother’s arms, couched weeping there,
Thou, lovely thing.
About this poem
“The Birthnight” was published in de la Mare’s “Collected Poems: 1901-1918, Vol. I” (H. Holt and Company, 1920).
About Walter de la Mare
Walter de la Mare was born on April 25, 1873, in London. He is the author of numerous books, including “The Listeners” (Constable & Company, 1912) and “The Veil and Other Poems” (Constable & Company, 1921). He died on June 22, 1956.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
This poem is in the public domain. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
