Poem of the Day: ‘Winter-Time’

Robert Louis Stevenson was the bridge between two worlds: the comic nonsense and sentimental poetry of the mid-Victorians, and the sardonic and clever children’s verse of the Edwardians.

Via Wikimedia Commons
Robert Louis Stevenson. Via Wikimedia Commons

Last March, The New York Sun offered “Windy Nights” as its Poem of the Day, and perhaps it’s time to revisit Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), this time for a winter poem. His collection, “A Child’s Garden of Verses,” appeared in 1885, and it quickly became the most widely read and influential volume of children’s poetry ever written (leaving aside “Mother Goose”). He was the bridge between two worlds: the comic nonsense and sentimental poetry of the mid-Victorians, and the sardonic and clever children’s verse of the Edwardians. Despite that role, however, he seems to have faded. Who still gives copies of “A Child’s Garden of Verses” to nieces and nephews for Christmas? Who still recites “The world is so full of a number of things, / I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings”? Not enough of us. In “Winter-Time,” Stevenson deploys his beloved tetrameter couplets to present the child’s sense of winter.

Winter-Time
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,  
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;  
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,  
A blood-red orange, sets again.  

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;  
And shivering in my nakedness,  
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.  

Close by the jolly fire I sit  
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore  
The colder countries round the door.  

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap  
Me in my comforter and cap;  
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.  

Black are my steps on silver sod;  
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,  
Are frosted like a wedding-cake.

___________________________________________ 

With “Poem of the Day,” The New York Sun offers a daily portion of verse selected by Joseph Bottum with the help of the North Carolina poet Sally Thomas, the Sun’s associate poetry editor. Tied to the day, or the season, or just individual taste, the poems will be typically drawn from the lesser-known portion of the history of English verse. In the coming months we will be reaching out to contemporary poets for examples of current, primarily formalist work, to show that poetry can still serve as a delight to the ear, an instruction to the mind, and a tonic for the soul. 


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use