The evening is soft and the purple dusk deep,
The village a-slumber, my baby asleep,
The cradle a-rocking beneath my tired foot,
The fire a-flaming in this little hut.
My husband’s a-fighting somewhere in the wild,
And I am alone with my sweet little child,
With my fingers a-knitting, my needles a-click,
And my candle a-spitting upon its short wick.
My eyes are a-smarting now in the lost light;
I lay down my wool and look out towards the night.
Our window is small and it holds back the wind
But a-shows all the shadows of trees as they bend.
A storm catches up and a-whirls through the dell;
It rattles our door with a savage’s yell.
I long for his arms to a-hold me so strong,
To hush me and keep me from feeling alone.
But I keep on a-rocking the cradle so crude,
My foot going up and a-down as I brood.
I keep all my thoughts locked away in my breast
Along with the mem’ries of him I love best.
The wind’s now a-dying. I poke at the flames.
I pick up my wool as the thunderstorm tames–
A-rocking my baby, a-listening to rain
While the fire’s now flickering, peaceful again.
The evening is soft and the purple night deep,
The village a-slumber, my baby asleep,
The cradle a-rocking beneath my tired foot,
The fire a-flaming in this little hut.
This is a wonderfully-written old-fashioned ballad. It brings to mind scenes from “Drums Along the Mohawk”, which is set against the frontier campaigns of The American Revolution. Have you ever taken a shot at putting a tune to it? I think the rhythm would lend itself to music very well!
Thanks so much, R.M.! Only yesterday did the thought occur to me to try and put it to music, and I do believe that will be one of my next musical projects. (Now my mind is going wild with the idea of putting some of my other poems to tunes, as well! Here we go on another creative rollercoaster!) I will be sure to send you the file, if I can ever get it done . . .
Mary Faustina, I really enjoyed your poem “Summer Evening.” Your depiction of the wife’s longing for her husband as the storm rages outside is very touching. I especially like how her decision to resume her knitting and continue rocking the cradle indicates her determination to calmly carry on as best as she can while waiting for her husband’s return – it’s very effective in its subtlety. Also reminiscient of LOTR – “All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.” Sorry, I couldn’t help it:).