quote · Legacy record
Is the yellow bird dead? Lay your dear little head Close, close to my heart, and weep, precious one, there, While your beautiful hair On my bosom lies light, like a sun-lighted cloud; No, you need not keep still, You may sob as you will; There is some little comfort in crying aloud. But the days they must come, When your grief will be dumb; Grown women like me must take care how they cry. You will learn by and by ’Tis a womanly art to hide pain out of sight, To look round with a smile, Though your heart aches the while And to keep back your tears till you’ve blown out the light.
Is the yellow bird dead? Lay your dear little head Close, close to my heart, and weep, precious one, there, While your beautiful hair On my bosom lies light, like a sun-lighted cloud; No, you need not keep still, You may sob as you will; There is some little comfort in crying aloud. But the days they must come, When your grief will be dumb; Grown women like me must take care how they cry. You will learn by and by ’Tis a womanly art to hide pain out of sight, To look round with a smile, Though your heart aches the while And to keep back your tears till you’ve blown out the light.
In print by 1921 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Marian Douglas (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1921 AD · modern
In print by 1921: recorded in My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 232 · printed citation: Marian Douglas (Picture Poems for Young Folks). · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.