Sunshine Always Follows Rain



It washed the faint and anxious grasses,

Through all this splendid latitude ;
And trees, and flowers and ferns in masses

Sent up a hymn of gratitude.
They felt the cooling breezes blow ;

They felt no more the sultry pain ;
And well the pretty creatures know

That sunshine always follows rain.

The wide Dominion naught could move her,

Move her like the thunder wet ;
From Halifax to far Vancouver

The gladsome cry is sounding yet.
Somewhere now the showers are falling

On mountain side or grassy plain ;
And in the trees the birds are calling,
' Sunshine always follows rain.'

The welcome thunder led the waters,

Sparkling o'er the thirsty lands ;
Nature laughed, and all her daughters

Gladly clapped their fevered hands !
So we '11 see the white wheat flowing

From the thrashers once again ;
And we '11 trust the future, knowing

Sunshine always follows rain.

Girlie, with the face so pallid,

Why weep in summer days like this ?

Your face is sweeter than a ballad

And purer than an angel's kiss ;
Thy tears are falling, falling, falling

Who has filled your heart with pain?
Hear the joyful crickets calling,
' Sunshine always follows rain.'

Why so gloomy and downhearted?

Wake up ! man, and grieve no more !
She and you in anger parted,

And I know your heart is sore.
She, herself, I know is fretting ;

She will come to you again ;
All your griefs and fears forgetting
' Sunshine always follows rain.'

For to-day we sat and sorrowed,

And our hearts were all forlorn ;
But our griefs and fears were borrowed ;

Let us wait to-morrow morn.
Then the sun in glory splendid

Will his chariot mount again,
All our heartaches will be ended
' Sunshine always follows rain.'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:26 min read
149

Quick analysis:

Scheme a ba bc dc d e fe fg dgD h ih ig jg D k l k lg dgD b mk mg jgD b nx nk jkD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,670
Words 294
Stanzas 27
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2, 2, 3

Robert Kirkland Kernighan

Robert Kirkland Kernighan was a Canadian poet, journalist, and farmer. Born at Rushdale Farm, Rockton, Ontario, he apprenticed as a journalist on the Hamilton Spectator staff. In about 1876 the paper printed his first poetry. Kernighan lived in Western Canada for a while working for the Winnipeg Sun. Short thereafter returned to Hamilton to farm. He worked exclusively for many years for the Toronto Telegram writing a column titled, "The Khan's Corner." The nickname "Khan" was given to him by a young French-Canadian woman who could not pronounce his name. It was the opinion of Sir John A. Macdonald that if Canada ever went to war the soldiers would march to battle singing Kernighan's poem "The Men of the Northern Zone". In an article reviewing personalities from Hamilton history, Kernighan was praised as a "...poet and humourist with a rare gift of sympathetic portrayal of rural Canadian life." The Khan appeared in Toronto at old Albert Hall on October 20th, 1885 to a packed house. Toronto's Daily Amusement Record reported: "Albert Hall was jammed to the door, and many had to stand. This, more than anything else, is a substantial compliment to Mr. Kernighan, as the people of Toronto are not in the habit of throwing away fifty-cent pieces 'just for fun'." Kernighan's lecture was attended by notable local personalities who were described in the Amusement Record as the "Fourth Estate". The reviewer concluded: "The lecture was a masterpiece of native eloquence, humour and pathos, and the only fault found was that it was too short." more…

All Robert Kirkland Kernighan poems | Robert Kirkland Kernighan Books

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