"Song of the Old Mother" by William Butler Yeats

 

Song of the Old Mother

I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow

Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow;

And then I must scrub and bake and sweep

Till stars are beginning to blink and peep;

And the young lie long and dream in their bed

Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head,

And their days go over in idleness,

And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress:

While I must work because I am old,

And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/H_lqTDNybDg

Who wrote the poem "Song of the Old Mother"?

William Butler Yeats (June 13, 1865 – January 28, 1939)

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, playwright, prose writer, and is widely considered as one of the greatest poets of the 20^th century. He was born to the Protestant, Anglo-Irish community that considered themselves English people born in Ireland and had largely controlled the economic, political, and social life of Ireland. However, Yeats strongly affirmed his Irish nationality and found inspiration in Irish legends and the occult in his early career. Later his poetry became more physical and realistic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. 

"Song of the Old Mother" explanation

In the poem, the speaker is an aged woman who has many difficult household duties. The overall atmosphere implies her displeasure with the young children idly lying in bed dreaming about trifles. This poem was published in The Wind Among The Reeds in 1899 when 34-year-old Yeats was deep in love with Irish tradition and culture. Some critics interpret the poem that the old woman symbolizes the country of Ireland, serving her master England, while the English, symbolized by the idle children, are absorbed in petty matters.

"Sonnets are full of love" by Christina Rossetti

 

Sonnets are full of love

Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome

Has many sonnets: so here now shall be

One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me

To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,

To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee

I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;

Whose service is my special dignity,

And she my loadstar while I go and come

And so because you love me, and because

I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath

Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:

In you not fourscore years can dim the flame

Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws

Of time and change and mortal life and death.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/5eCT3Vgyolk

Who wrote the poem "Sonnets are full of love"?

Christina Rossetti (December 5, 1830 ~ December 29, 1894)

Christina Rossetti was an English poet who was lauded as one of the foremost female poets of the 19th-century Victorian era. She wrote romantic, devotional, and children's poems, marked by symbolism and intense feeling. Her literary status was often compared to that of Elizabeth Barren Browning, and upon Browning's death in 1861, Rossetti was hailed as Browning's rightful successor. She opposed slavery, cruelty to animals, and the exploitation of girls in under-age prostitution. Rossetti suffered from Graves' disease in the later decades of her life. In 1893, she was diagnosed of breast cancer and died of a recurrence in 1894.

"Sonnets are full of love" explanation

In the poem, the speaker expresses her deep love for her mother and cherishes their relationship. Rossetti was educated at home by her parents, and especially her mother is said to have played an important role in her education as a writer. This poem is dedicated to her mother and was published in her collection A Pageant and Other Poems.

"Mother O' Mine" by Rudyard Kipling

 

Mother o' Mine

If I were hanged on the highest hill,

Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

I know whose love would follow me still,

Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

 

If I were drowned in the deepest sea,

Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

I know whose tears would come down to me,

Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

 

If I were damned of body and soul,

I know whose prayers would make me whole,

Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/SvFKNT7Mds8

Who wrote the poem "Mother O' Mine"?

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 - January 18, 1936)

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, novelist, and poet. He was one of the most popular writers in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in India, and his work including "The Jungle Book" showed much Indian influence. 

"Mother O' Mine" explanation

In the poem, the speaker praises and appreciates a mother’s unconditional love. A mother will always love her children no matter what and will do anything for them. This poem was published in the beginning of Kipling’s 1892 novel The Light That Failed. Some critics speculate that Kipling added this poem in the novel (which had a sad ending) to soothe his mother who reportedly preferred a happy ending to the novel.

"Four-Feet" by Rudyard Kipling

 

Four-Feet

I have done mostly what most men do,

And pushed it out of my mind;

But I can't forget, if I wanted to,

Four-Feet trotting behind.

 

Day after day, the whole day through --

Wherever my road inclined --

Four-Feet said, "I am coming with you!"

And trotted along behind.

 

Now I must go by some other round, --

Which I shall never find --

Somewhere that does not carry the sound

Of Four-Feet trotting behind.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video 👇

https://youtu.be/fh8zMugs3IE

Who wrote the poem "Four-Feet" ?

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 - January 18, 1936)

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, novelist, and poet. He was one of the most popular writers in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in India, and his work including "The Jungle Book" showed much Indian influence. 

"Four-Feet"  explanation

In the poem, the speaker describes his love and companionship for his dog and the sorrow for its loss. In Kipling’s another verse “The Power of the Dog,” the poet also warns of heartbreak in wait for any dog lovers because of their short lifespan relative to humans’.

"Be A Friend" by Edgar Albert Guest (friendship poem)

 

Be A Friend

Be a friend. You don't need money;

Just a disposition sunny;

Just the wish to help another

Get along some way or other;

Just a kindly hand extended

Out to one who's unbefriended;

Just the will to give or lend,

This will make you someone's friend.

 

Be a friend. You don't need glory.

Friendship is a simple story.

Pass by trifling errors blindly,

Gaze on honest effort kindly,

Cheer the youth who's bravely trying,

Pity him who's sadly sighing;

Just a little labor spend

On the duties of a friend.

 

Be a friend. The pay is bigger

(Though not written by a figure)

Than is earned by people clever

In what's merely self-endeavor.

You'll have friends instead of neighbors

For the profits of your labors;

You'll be richer in the end

Than a prince, if you're a friend.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/nJcKzs8KGiY

Who wrote the poem "Be A Friend"?

Edgar Albert Guest (August 20, 1881 ~ August 5, 1959)

Edgar Albert Guest was a Britishborn American poet who was popular in the first half of the 20th century. He wrote 11,000 poems which were syndicated in 300 newspapers. He became known as the People's Poet because his poems were easy to read and had an inspirational and optimistic view of everyday life with such themes as family, work, children, and God.

"Be A Friend" explanation

In the poem, the speaker talks about the importance and benefits of becoming someone’s friend by helping them in one way or other.

"The Mother" by Robert W. Service

 

The Mother

There will be a singing in your heart,

There will be a rapture in your eyes;

You will be a woman set apart,

You will be so wonderful and wise.

You will sleep, and when from dreams you start,

As of one that wakes in Paradise,

There will be a singing in your heart,

There will be a rapture in your eyes.

 

There will be a moaning in your heart,

There will be an anguish in your eyes;

You will see your dearest ones depart,

You will hear their quivering good-byes.

Yours will be the heart-ache and the smart,

Tears that scald and lonely sacrifice;

There will be a moaning in your heart,

There will be an anguish in your eyes.

 

There will come a glory in your eyes,

There will come a peace within your heart;

Sitting ‘neath the quiet evening skies,

Time will dry the tear and dull the smart.

You will know that you have played your part;

Yours shall be the love that never dies:

You, with Heaven’s peace within your heart,

You, with God’s own glory in your eyes.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/kJ7ihr4B3F8

Who wrote the poem "The Mother"?

Robert W. Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958)

Robert William Service was a British-Canadian poet and writer. As a bank clerk, he had to travel widely in the Western U.S. and Canada. When his bank sent him to the Yukon, he wrote poems about the Klondike Gold Rush and achieved an immediate and great commercial success. His poems had often been criticized as literarily inferior by the critics, as in the case of Rudyard Kipling, and he was nicknamed “the Canadian Kipling.” This, however, didn’t bother Service, who classified his work as “verse, not poetry.”

 

"The Mother" explanation

In the poem, the speaker expresses his love, admiration, and gratitude for his mother and her role in her children’s life. Overcoming many challenges and tragedies, our mothers take care of her children. The speaker then praises motherly love to be immortal.

"I Knew A Man by Sight" by Henry David Thoreau

 

I Knew A Man By Sight

I knew a man by sight,

A blameless wight,

Who, for a year or more,

Had daily passed my door,

Yet converse none had had with him.

 

I met him in a lane,

Him and his cane,

About three miles from home,

Where I had chanced to roam,

And volumes stared at him, and he at me.

 

In a more distant place

I glimpsed his face,

And bowed instinctively;

Starting he bowed to me,

Bowed simultaneously, and passed along.

 

 

Next, in a foreign land

I grasped his hand,

And had a social chat,

About this thing and that,

As I had known him well a thousand years.

 

Late in a wilderness

I shared his mess,

For he had hardships seen,

And I a wanderer been;

He was my bosom friend, and I was his.

 

And as, methinks, shall all,

Both great and small,

That ever lived on earth,

Early or late their birth,

Stranger and foe, one day each other know.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/n7-HVGVj5dQ

Who wrote the poem "I Knew A Man by Sight"?

Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862)

Henry David Thoreau was an American poet, essayist, naturalist, and philosopher. He was a leading transcendentalist and is best known for this book “Walden,” a personal reflection upon simple living in nature. His writings display a unique combination of a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and attention to practical detail. Thoreau was a lifelong abolitionist, and he pioneered modern-day environmentalism. His political philosophy of civil disobedience, which argued for disobedience to an unjust state, later greatly influenced such historical figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. He died of tuberculosis at 44.

"I Knew A Man by Sight" explanation

The poem is about how two strangers meet and become friends. The speaker then goes on to say that everyone is connected to each other and there are no strangers in this world. No matter how others appear (great or small/ stranger and foe), we are all connected to each other as long as we belong to the same universe and can build a deeper relationship.

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden [Family Quotes and Poem]

 

Those Winter Sundays

Sundays too my father got up early

And put his clothes on in the blue black cold,

Then with cracked hands that ached

from labor in the weekday weather made

banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

 

I’d wake and hear the cold splintering, breking.

when the rooms were warm, he’d call,

and slowly I would rise and dress,

fearing the chronic angers of that house,

 

Speaking indifferently to him,

who had driven out the cold

and polished my good shoes as well.

What did I know, what did I know

of love’s austere and lonely offices?

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/5IgtMfErsOg

Who wrote the poem ""Those Winter Sundays"?

Robert Hayden (August 4, 1913 – February 25, 1980)

Robert Hayden was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He was the first African American Consultant of Poetry for the United States Congress (U.S. Poet Laureate) from 1976 to 1978. His works often demonstrated his interest in African American history.

 

"Those Winter Sundays" explanation

In the poem, the speaker recollects some memories of his father. His father used to wake up early on wintry Sundays “too” to light up the fire with his cracked hands for the comfort of his family, but no one ever thanked him for that. The speaker, perhaps as an adult, now understands his father’s struggle and regrets his ungrateful and indifferent attitude. The poem reminds us of the sacrifices our parents have made for us. The poem also displays somewhat darker undertone, for the tensions between the father and the son, created by misunderstanding and/or “chronic angers,” might not have been healed.

"A Time to Talk" by Robert Frost [Friendship Poem]

 

A Time to Talk

When a friend calls to me from the road

And slows his horse to a meaning walk,

I don't stand still and look around

On all the hills I haven't hoed,

And shout from where I am, 'What is it?'

No, not as there is a time to talk.

I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,

Blade-end up and five feet tall,

And plod: I go up to the stone wall

For a friendly visit.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/1S0HG2mdodw

Who wrote the poem "A Time to Talk"?

Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963)

Robert Frost was an American poet who was born in San Francisco, California. Frost’s life was marked by grief and loss. When he was 11, his father died of tuberculosis, leaving just eight dollars. Frost’s mother died of cancer when he was 26. Mental illness ran in his family. He and his mother suffered from depression, and his sister and his daughter were committed to mental hospitals. Using realistic depictions of rural life, his poems often examined complex social and philosophical themes. Frost’s first book was published at the age of 40, but he ended up winning four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry and becoming the most famous poet of his time.

"A Time to Talk" explanation

The main message of the poem is that treating your friend well and maintaining a friendship is more important than your work or livelihood. The speaker describes a situation where his friend visits and calls to him from the road while he is working on the field. He sets aside his work and walks to his friend, reminding the reader of the importance of friendship.

"The Stick-Together Families" by Edgar Albert Guest

 

The Stick-Together Families

The stick-together families are happier by far

Than the brothers and the sisters who take separate highways are.

The gladdest people living are the wholesome folks who make

A circle at the fireside that no power but death can break.

And the finest of conventions ever held beneath the sun

Are the little family gatherings when the busy day is done.

 

There are rich folk, there are poor folk, who imagine they are wise,

And they're very quick to shatter all the little family ties.

Each goes searching after pleasure in his own selected way,

Each with strangers likes to wander, and with strangers likes to play.

But it's bitterness they harvest, and it's empty joy they find,

For the children that are wisest are the stick-together kind.

 

There are some who seem to fancy that for gladness they must roam,

That for smiles that are the brightest they must wander far from home.

That the strange friend is the true friend, and they travel far astray

they waste their lives in striving for a joy that's far away,

But the gladdest sort of people, when the busy day is done,

Are the brothers and the sisters who together share their fun.

 

It's the stick-together family that wins the joys of earth,

That hears the sweetest music and that finds the finest mirth;

It's the old home roof that shelters all the charm that life can give;

There you find the gladdest play-ground, there the happiest spot to live.

And, O weary, wandering brother, if contentment you would win,

Come you back unto the fireside and be comrade with your kin.

 

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music

Poem Video👇

https://youtu.be/sx-5Toakb8s

Who wrote the poem "The Stick-Together Families"?

Edgar Albert Guest (August 20, 1881 ~ August 5, 1959)

Edgar Albert Guest was a Britishborn American poet who was popular in the first half of the 20th century. He wrote 11,000 poems which were syndicated in 300 newspapers. He became known as the People's Poet because his poems were easy to read and had an inspirational and optimistic view of everyday life with such themes as family, work, children, and God.

"The Stick-Together Families" explanation

The main theme of the poem is the importance of family relationship. The speaker suggests that the families that stick together through thick and thin are the happiest ones, rich and poor. Many people try to find joy among strangers while neglecting family relations, only to find it empty. The speaker advises the reader to pay more attention to one’s family and take care of one’s family members.