Poems by Emily Jane Bronte

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A Day Dream

On a sunny brae alone I lay

One summer afternoon;

It was the marriage-time of May,

With her young lover, June.

From her mother's heart seemed loath to part

That queen of bridal charms,

But her father smiled on the fairest child

He ever held in his arms.

by Emily Jane Bronte

Mild the mist upon the hill

Telling not of storms tomorrow;

No, the day has wept its fill,

Spent its store of silent sorrow.

O, I'm gone back to the days of youth,

I am a child once more,

And 'neath my father's sheltering roof

And near the old hall door

by Emily Jane Bronte

Speak, God Of Visions

O, thy bright eyes must answer now,

When Reason, with a scornful brow,

Is mocking at my overthrow!

O, thy sweet tongue must plead for me,

And tell why I have chosen thee!

Stern Reason is to judgment come,

Arrayed in all her forms of gloom:

Wilt thou, my advocate, be dumb?

by Emily Jane Bronte

Shall Earth no more inspire thee

Shall Earth no more inspire thee,

Thou lonely dreamer now?

Since passion may not fire thee

Shall Nature cease to bow?

Thy mind is ever moving

In regions dark to thee;

Recall its useless roving—

Come back and dwell with me.

by Emily Jane Bronte

High waving heather 'neath stormy blasts bending

High waving heather 'neath stormy blasts bending,

Midnight and moonlight and bright shining stars,

Darkness and glory rejoicingly blending,

Earth rising to heaven and heaven descending,

Man's spirit away from its drear dungeon sending,

Bursting the fetters and breaking the bars.

All down the mountain sides wild forests lending

One mighty voice to the life-giving wind,

by Emily Jane Bronte

The Prisoner: Pt 1

In the dungeon crypts idly did I stray,

Reckless of the lives wasting there away;

"Draw the ponderous bars; open, Warder stern!"

He dare not say me nay–the hinges harshly turn.

"Our guests are darkly lodged," I whispered, gazing through

The vault whose grated eye showed heaven more grey than blue.

(This was when glad spring laughed in awaking pride.)

"Aye, darkly lodged enough!" returned my sullen guide.

by Emily Jane Bronte

A little while, a little while

A little while, a little while,

The weary task is put away,

And I can sing and I can smile,

Alike, while I have holiday.

Why wilt thou go, my harassed heart,

What thought, what scene invites thee now?

What spot, or near or far,

Has rest for thee, my weary brow?

by Emily Jane Bronte

Moonlight, summer moonlight

'Tis moonlight, summer moonlight,

All soft and still and fair;

The solemn hour of midnight

Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere,

But most where trees are sending

Their breezy boughs on high,

Or stooping low are lending

A shelter from the sky.

by Emily Jane Bronte

If grief for grief can touch thee

If grief for grief can touch thee,

If answering woe for woe,

If any truth can melt thee

Come to me now!

I cannot be more lonely,

More drear I cannot be!

My worn heart beats so wildly

'Twill break for thee—

by Emily Jane Bronte

Hope

Hope was but a timid friend-

She sat without my grated den

Watching how my fate would tend

Even as selfish-hearted men.

She was cruel in her fear.

Through the bars, one dreary day,

I looked out to see her there

And she turned her face away!

by Emily Jane Bronte

No coward soul is mine

No coward soul is mine,

No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere :

I see Heaven's glories shine,

And Faith shines equal, arming me from Fear.

O God within my breast,

Almighty, ever-present Deity !

Life, that in me has rest,

As I, undying Life, have power in Thee !

by Emily Jane Bronte

Love and Friendship

Love is like the wild rose-briar,

Friendship like the holly-tree —

The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms

But which will bloom most constantly?

The wild-rose briar is sweet in the spring,

Its summer blossoms scent the air;

Yet wait till winter comes again

And who will call the wild-briar fair?

by Emily Jane Bronte