We Are Coming, Sister Mary

Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)



On a stormy night in winter,
When the winds blew cold and wet,
I heard some strains of music
That I never can forget.
I was sleeping in the cabin,
Where liv'd Mary fair and young,
When a light shone in the window,
And a band of singers sung.

We are coming sister Mary,
We are coming bye and bye,
Be ready sister Mary,
For the time is drawing nigh.

I tried to tell my Mary,
But my tongue would not obey,
When the song so strange had ended,
And the singers flown away,
As I watch'd I heard a rustling,
Like the rustling of a wing,
And beside my Mary's pillow
Very soon I heard them sing.

Then again I called my Mary,
But my sorrow was complete
For I found her heart of kindness
Had forever ceas'd to beat
And I still am very lonely
From summer round to spring
And I oft in midnight slumber
Think I hear the same ones sing.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

51 sec read
32

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXBXCDC EFEF EGXGHHDH EIXIEHAH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 801
Words 167
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 8, 8

Henry Clay Work

Henry Clay Work was an American composer and songwriter. more…

All Henry Clay Work poems | Henry Clay Work Books

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