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Poem
September 5, 1890
Idaho Semi Weekly World
Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho
What is this article about?
A weary housewife, burdened by chores and children, complains to her husband John, but after imagining his harsher labor under an overseer, she reconciles and vows never to claim her load is heavier. Published in Detroit Free Press.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Weary and heartsick from work and pain
Was it any wonder the hard word came?
With children's clamor and heavy care,
It seemed that mine was the "lion's share."
And John, with a look that told he heard,
Went on to his work with a calm absurd.
Weary and heartsick all of the day.
The heavy hours went slowly away,
The night came down, but no John returned,
To where the hearth-fire sulkily burned;
I gave the children their supper and bed,
And crouched by the coals with an aching head.
O was it a dream-that I seemed to be John—
So weary and painfully hammering on,
Seemed to be laboring over my strength,
Till the long, long day was over at length,
With cruel words and a taunting sneer
Flung often at him by the overseer?
O was it a dream that, the day now o'er,
They doubled his task and abused him more,
That the patient mind had but one refrain,
"I bear, for my home and the living to gain;"
But the word I had spoken held its smart,
And was like a fire in the patient heart.
A step on the stair! O John has returned,
The sulky fire now more brightly has burned,
A leap in my heart moves me on to the door,
I sob in the arms of my darling once more;
O never again by a word or a sign
Will I claim that his burden is lighter than mine.
-Detroit Free Press.
Was it any wonder the hard word came?
With children's clamor and heavy care,
It seemed that mine was the "lion's share."
And John, with a look that told he heard,
Went on to his work with a calm absurd.
Weary and heartsick all of the day.
The heavy hours went slowly away,
The night came down, but no John returned,
To where the hearth-fire sulkily burned;
I gave the children their supper and bed,
And crouched by the coals with an aching head.
O was it a dream-that I seemed to be John—
So weary and painfully hammering on,
Seemed to be laboring over my strength,
Till the long, long day was over at length,
With cruel words and a taunting sneer
Flung often at him by the overseer?
O was it a dream that, the day now o'er,
They doubled his task and abused him more,
That the patient mind had but one refrain,
"I bear, for my home and the living to gain;"
But the word I had spoken held its smart,
And was like a fire in the patient heart.
A step on the stair! O John has returned,
The sulky fire now more brightly has burned,
A leap in my heart moves me on to the door,
I sob in the arms of my darling once more;
O never again by a word or a sign
Will I claim that his burden is lighter than mine.
-Detroit Free Press.
What sub-type of article is it?
Ballad
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Weary Housewife
Marital Burdens
Empathy Lesson
Domestic Labor
Moral Reconciliation
What entities or persons were involved?
Detroit Free Press
Poem Details
Author
Detroit Free Press
Subject
A Wife's Realization Of Shared Marital Burdens
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
O Never Again By A Word Or A Sign
Will I Claim That His Burden Is Lighter Than Mine.
I Bear, For My Home And The Living To Gain;
It Seemed That Mine Was The "Lion's Share."