A dark, tempestuous night; the stars shut in With shrouds of fog; an inky, jet-black blot The firmament; and where the moon has been An hour agone seems like the darkest spot. The weird wind -- furious at its demon game -- Rattles one's fancy like a window-frame. A care-worn face peers out into the dark, And childish faces -- frightened at the gloom -- Grow awed and vacant as they turn to mark The father's as he passes through the room: The gate latch clatters, and wee baby Bess Whispers, "The doctor's tummin' now, I dess!" The father turns; a sharp, swift flash of pain Flits o'er his face: "Amanda, child! I said A moment since -- I see I must AGAIN -- Go take your little sisters off to bed! There, Effie, Rose, and @3Clara mustn't cry!@1" "I tan't he'p it -- I'm fyaid 'at mama'll die!" What are his feelings, when this man alone Sits in the silence, glaring in the grate That sobs and sighs on in an undertone As stoical -- immovable as Fate, While muffled voices from the sick one's room Come in like heralds of a dreaded doom? The door-latch jingles: in the doorway stands The doctor, while the draft puffs in a breath -- The dead coals leap to life, and clap their hands, The flames flash up. A face as pale as death Turns slowly -- teeth tight clenched, and with a look The doctor, through his specs, reads like a book. "Come, brace up, Major!" -- "Let me know the worst!" "W'y you're the biggest fool I ever saw -- Here, Major -- take a little brandy first -- There! She's a @3boy@1 -- I mean @3he@1 is -- hurrah!" "Wake up the other girls -- and shout for joy -- Eureka is his name -- I've found "A BOY!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET TO THE AUTUMNAL MOON by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE SEASONS (1) by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI EMBLEMS OF LOVE: 27. THE POWER OF ELOQUENCE IN LOVE by PHILIP AYRES BRYANT'S BIRTHPLACE by CHARLOTTE FISKE BATES |