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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


HOME AT NIGHT by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHEN CHIRPING CRICKETS FAINTER CRY
Last Line: ARE LIFTED -- AND THE LIPS OF KATE.
Subject(s): HOME; INSECTS; NIGHT; BUGS; BEDTIME;

WHEN chirping crickets fainter cry,
And pale stars blossom in the sky,
And twilight's gloom has dimmed the bloom
And blurred the butterfly:

When locust-blossoms fleck the walk,
And up the tiger-lily stalk
The glowworm crawls and clings and falls
And glimmers down the garden-walls:

When buzzing things, with double wings
Of crisp and raspish flutterings,
Go whizzing by so very nigh
One thinks of fangs and stings: --

O then, within, is stilled the din
Of crib she rocks the baby in,
And heart and gate and latch's weight
Are lifted -- and the lips of Kate.



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