A Gleam Of Sunshine Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Gleam Of Sunshine

Rating: 3.1


This is the place. Stand still, my steed,
Let me review the scene,
And summon from the shadowy Past
The forms that once have been.

The Past and Present here unite
Beneath Time's flowing tide,
Like footprints hidden by a brook,
But seen on either side.

Here runs the highway to the town;
There the green lane descends,
Through which I walked to church with thee,
O gentlest of my friends!

The shadow of the linden-trees
Lay moving on the grass;
Between them and the moving boughs,
A shadow, thou didst pass.

Thy dress was like the lilies,
And thy heart as pure as they:
One of God's holy messengers
Did walk with me that day.

I saw the branches of the trees
Bend down thy touch to meet,
The clover-blossoms in the grass
Rise up to kiss thy feet,

"Sleep, sleep to-day, tormenting cares,
Of earth and folly born!"
Solemnly sang the village choir
On that sweet Sabbath morn.

Through the closed blinds the golden sun
Poured in a dusty beam,
Like the celestial ladder seen
By Jacob in his dream.

And ever and anon, the wind,
Sweet-scented with the hay,
Turned o'er the hymn-book's fluttering leaves
That on the window lay.

Long was the good man's sermon,
Yet it seemed not so to me;
For he spake of Ruth the beautiful,
And still I thought of thee.

Long was the prayer he uttered,
Yet it seemed not so to me;
For in my heart I prayed with him,
And still I thought of thee.

But now, alas! the place seems changed;
Thou art no longer here:
Part of the sunshine of the scene
With thee did disappear.

Though thoughts, deep-rooted in my heart,
Like pine-trees dark and high,
Subdue the light of noon, and breathe
A low and ceaseless sigh;

This memory brightens o'er the past,
As when the sun, concealed
Behind some cloud that near us hangs
Shines on a distant field.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Susan Williams 08 April 2016

I have a fondness for verses that flow so melodiously, for words that paint wonderful scenery, for a heart that loves those around him, , for all that is good in poetry.

33 0 Reply
Susan Williams 14 March 2016

Sentimental? Yes. Do I care? No. This poem is lovely in all ways that a poem can be lovely.

31 0 Reply
Kevin Straw 24 June 2010

Long was the fellow's poem, And so it seemed to me!

15 13 Reply
Stephen W 08 April 2016

Rarely, we agree! He needs an edit. He goes from the sublime to the hackneyed, in one line. With a severe trim, it would be really good. stanzas 2,8,9,11 need amputating. A little late to tell him.

0 3
Adekunle Adedigba 24 June 2011

Lovely poem from the heart. Long enough to hail the art.

18 8 Reply
Moomoo 03 July 2019

sucks like you

2 3 Reply
Boyko Grigorov 10 April 2019

Wonderful

0 2 Reply
Patricia 09 December 2018

Is this after his wife died?

0 2 Reply
Bhagabat Prasad Hotta 12 November 2018

So nice poem......I enjoyed it....

1 1 Reply
Shradha 26 July 2018

Awesome poem....wairitng for more

0 1 Reply
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