"A Little While, A Little While..." Poem by Emily Jane Brontë

"A Little While, A Little While..."

Rating: 3.2


A little while, a little while,
The weary task is put away,
And I can sing and I can smile,
Alike, while I have holiday.

Why wilt thou go, my harassed heart,
What thought, what scene invites thee now?
What spot, or near or far,
Has rest for thee, my weary brow?

There is a spot, mid barren hills,
Where winter howls, and driving rain;
But if the dreary tempest chills,
There is a light that warms again.

The house is old, the trees are bare,
Moonless above bends twilight's dome;
But what on earth is half so dear,
So longed for, as the hearth of home?

The mute bird sitting on the stone,
The dank moss dripping from the wall,
The thorn-trees gaunt, the walks o'ergrown,
I love them, how I love them all!

Still, as I mused, the naked room,
The alien firelight died away,
And from the midst of cheerless gloom
I passed to bright unclouded day.

A little and a lone green lane
That opened on a common wide;
A distant, dreamy, dim blue chain
Of mountains circling every side;

A heaven so clear, an earth so calm,
So sweet, so soft, so hushed an air;
And, deepening still the dream-like charm,
Wild moor-sheep feeding everywhere.

That was the scene, I knew it well;
I knew the turfy pathway's sweep
That, winding o'er each billowy swell,
Marked out the tracks of wandering sheep.

Could I have lingered but an hour,
It well had paid a week of toil;
But Truth has banished Fancy's power:
Restraint and heavy task recoil.

Even as I stood with raptured eye,
Absorbed in bliss so deep and dear,
My hour of rest had fleeted by,
And back came labour, bondage, care.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Paddy Kennedy 05 October 2012

an experience of everyday life, common to all, with imagery most appropiate and local.Quiet enjoyable.

11 8 Reply
Tarsha Clarkson 15 June 2012

thats one of my fav poems! : D

11 5 Reply
Melikhaya Zagagana 28 August 2014

A poem with will, all the energy well spent. You would not be thought of a time waster Jane you played your part well. You only had to right this poem and forever live well.

14 1 Reply
Mary Bradley 02 December 2012

So like a vacation - lasts only a little while.

8 4 Reply
Gajanan Mishra 08 July 2014

absorbed in bliss, good writing, I like it, thanks,

5 4 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 14 September 2023

Congratulations to the family of the late poetess and this poem has become an immortal poem. TOP Marks,5 Stars!

0 2 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 14 September 2023

Now again as The Classic Poem Of The Day by EJB, still a fantastic read and so well rhymed so the rhythm becomest very attractive. Stilla profound poem of Emily Jane Bronté

0 1 Reply
Savita Tyagi 14 September 2023

Nothing lasts forever but a pleasure of little while renews again with a beautiful poem.

0 1 Reply
Kingsley Egbukole 14 September 2023

A beautifully crafted poem. Interesting reading

0 1 Reply
Chinedu Dike 05 November 2022

Beautiful rendition of words.

4 1 Reply
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Emily Jane Brontë

Emily Jane Brontë

Thornton / Yorkshire
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