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The Narrow Doors

Fannie Stearns Davis 1884 (Cleveland, Ohio) – 1966 (USA)

The Wide Door into Sorrow
Stands open night and day.
With head held high and dancing feet
I pass it on my way.

I never tread within it,
I never turn to see
The Wide Door into Sorrow.
It cannot frighten me.

The Narrow Doors to Sorrow
Are secret, still, and low:
Swift tongues of dusk that spoil the sun
Before I even know.

My dancing feet are frozen.
I stare. I can but see.
The Narrow Doors to Sorrow
They stop the heart in me.

Oh, stranger than my midnights
Of loneliness and strife
The Doors that let the dark leap in
Across my sunny life!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
53

Quick analysis:

Scheme Abxb xcAc Aada dcAc cexe
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 530
Words 109
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Full analysis for The Narrow Doors »

Fannie Stearns Davis

Davis was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 6, 1884. She graduated from Smith College in 1904. She is credited with having two books of poetry published: Myself and I, 1913, and Crack O' Dawn, 1915. Her poetry is marked by sensitive poetic feeling and delicate artistry. Davis taught English at Kemper Hall in Kenoshay, Wisconsin from 1906-07. In 1910, she was instrumental in assisting her brother, William Stearns Davis, in editing his classic historical book, A Day in Old Athens. She earned the distinction of being listed in the 1914 Who's Who. Jessie Bell Rittenhouse was one of the many people that praised the lyrical quality of Davis' poetry. Davis' married name was Mrs. Augustus McKinstrey Gifford. The death date is a guesstimate more…

All Fannie Stearns Davis poems | Fannie Stearns Davis Books

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