Nature, the gentlest mother,

Emily Dickinson 1830 (Amherst) – 1886 (Amherst)



Nature, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest,
Her admonition mild

In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.

How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon,--
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down

Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.

When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky

With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

31 sec read
1,444

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBB XCXC DXXX XAXA XXXX DEXE
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 608
Words 106
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. more…

All Emily Dickinson poems | Emily Dickinson Books

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1 Comment
  • Emile
    Reading this poem makes me somwhat feel at ease and peaceful!
    LikeReply2 months ago

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"Nature, the gentlest mother," Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Nov. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/11981/nature,-the-gentlest-mother,>.

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