Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FOLK-SONG by LOUIS UNTERMEYER

Poet Analysis

First Line: BACK SHE CAME THROUGH THE TREMBLING / DUSK
Last Line: "I LOVED HIM SO!"
Subject(s): SUICIDE;
BACK she came through the trembling dusk;
And her mother spoke and said:
"What is it makes you late to-day,
And why do you smile and sing as gay
As though you just were wed?"
"@3Oh mother, my hen that never had chicks
Has hatched out six!@1"

Back she came through the flaming dusk;
And her mother spoke and said:
"What gives your eyes that dancing light,
What makes your lips so strangely bright,
And why are your cheeks so red?"
"@3Oh mother, the berries I ate in the lane
Have left a stain.@1"

Back she came through the faltering dusk;
And her mother spoke and said:
"You are weeping; your footstep is heavy with care—
What makes you totter and cling to the stair,
And why do you hang your head?"
"@3Oh mother—oh mother—you never can know—
I loved him so!@1"



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