The Day is Done

Henry W. Longfellow

The mood of this poem must first be appreciated before adequate oral interpretation will be possible. Note that the first three stanzas are description tinged with "a feeling of sadness and longing." Stanzas 4 to 8, inclusive, call for a poem to be read, with a description of the kind desired. And the last three stanzas give the effect of such a poem. At the places noted, slight transitions occur, but there are no marked changes or climaxes. The tone is quiet and pensive throughout, and the rendition most needs a sym pathetic quality of voice, the tones colored by the appropriate emotion, so that you "lend to the rhyme of the poem the beauty of thy voice."

I

THE day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

2

I see the lights of the village

Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me,
That my soul cannot resist:

3

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,

And resembles sorrow only

As the mist resembles the rain.

4

Come, read to me some poem,

Some simple and heartfelt lay,

That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

5

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time,

6

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor,-
And to-night I long for rest.

7

Read from some humbler poet,

Whose songs gushed from his heart, As showers from the clouds of summer, Or tears from the eyelids start.

8

Who through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music

Of wonderful melodies.

9

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,

And come like the benediction

That follows after prayer.

ΙΟ

Then read from the treasured volume

The poem of thy choice,

And lend to the rhyme of the poet

The beauty of thy voice.

II

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

The Cross of Honor

Virginia Fisher Harris

The "Cross of Honor" is a small bronze medal worn by ex-Confederate soldiers, and corresponding to the round bronze button worn by ex-Union soldiers. This poem is a eulogy of Confederate veterans and their deeds. The prevailing emotion is mingled praise and pathos, which should be sustained throughout, with a slight change at the opening of each paragraph. Note that several lines in this poem should be passed without pausing.

I

No crown of laurel, wreath of bay,
On conquering brow to proudly lay,
Had vanquished South her sons to give.
Their diadems are deeds that live.
Time soothed the grief but not the pride
For those who had so nobly died.
Loving remembrance of gain and loss
Are crusted deep in "Honor's Cross,
Though only a bit of bronze.

2

Now daisies dot the emerald plains
That once were red with bloody stains,
Crumbled to dust the flags that waved
O'er fearless hearts that danger braved.
Corroding rust the keen blade dims,
Silent the stirring battle hymns.

In trenched graves or grass-grown mounds,
Or yet in life with scars and wounds,
This gray-garbed mighty Southern host
That dauntless stood at Honor's post
Holds living shrines in Southern hearts,
And name and fame that ruthless darts
Can tarnish never.

3

Cross of Honor, by Valor won-
By deeds heroic nobly done,-
On veterans' breasts proudly lay,
Mute story of forgetless day.
Bit of bronze,-no jeweled light
Flashes from its surface bright,
But oh, the story that it tells,
And how the heart exultant swells.
Thy gems are those of deathless fame,
That burn and glow with steady flame.
Honor, Courage, Chivalric Truth,
A stainless name above reproof.
These are thy gems, O Southern son,
By steadfast courage bravely won.
Proudly wear it, stainless bear it,
This Cross of Honor.

Annabel Lee

Edgar Allan Poe

Ringing, musical tones, in many instances interblending, are best for rendering this selection. The ideas to be emphasized often come in pairs; for instance, "to love and be loved"; "I was a child and she was a child," "chilling and killing," "older-wiser," "in heaven above nor the demons down under." Be sure to note the slight difference in most of the repetitions.

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:

But we loved with a love that was more than love

I and my Annabel Lee;

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulcher
In this kingdom by the sea.