The First Snowfall by James Russell Lowell The snow had begun in the gleaming. And busily all the night Had been heaping field and highway With a silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock Were ermine too dear for an earl, And the poorest twig on the elm-tree Was ridged inch-deep with pearl. From sheds new-roofed with Carrara Came Chanticlear's muffled crow; The stiff rails softened to swan's down, And still fluttered down the snow. I stood and watched by the window The noiseless work of the sky, And the sudden flurries of snowbirds, Like brown leaves whirling by. I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn Where a little headstone stood; How the flakes were folding it gently, As did robins the babes in the wood. Up spoke our own little Mable, Saying, "Father, who makes it snow?" And I told of the good All-Father Who cares for us here below. Again I looked at the snowfall, And thought of the leaden sky That arched o'er our first great sorrow, When that mound was heaped so high. I remembered the gradual patience That fell from the cloud like snow, Flake by flake, healing and hiding The sear of our deep-plunged woe. And again to the child I whispered, "The snow that husheth all, Darling, the merciful Father Alone can make it fall!" Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her; And she, kissing back, could not know That my kiss was given to her sister, Folded close under deepening snow. Carrara is a beautiful white marble produced in Carrara, Italy. Sweet Auburn was the name of a cemetery, and Blanch the little sister who died before Mabel was born. All early families had the hardship of losing family members. Next Roast Beaver Back Homepage Index| |penuche| |Interesting Cookies| |Role of Women| |Roast Goose| |Winter Vegetable Soup| |Wild Game| |Elegant Desserts| |Cinnamon| |Crackers| |Preserving Husbands| |Buffalo Stew| |Homemade Candy| |First White Traders| |Virginia Hams| |1805| |First Snowfall| |Roast Beaver| Mice Pie| |Hominy| |Homemade Bread| |Bath Tub Gin| |Homemade Sausage| |What's In Season?| |The Old School House| |Laundry| |A Taffy Pull| |Marshmallows| |Making Catsup| |Homemade Icecream| |Fried Chicken| |Crocks of Dill Pickles| |Those Personal Things| |Homemade Salad Dressing| |Cottage Cheese| |Homemade Mustard|