Summary

This poem paints a vivid and whimsical picture of the sunrise and sunset through the eyes of an imaginative observer. It begins with a description of the sunrise, metaphorically compared to a ribbon being unfurled and the steeples glowing with an amethyst hue. The natural world is personified as hills take off their bonnets and bobolinks, a type of bird, begin to sing, signaling the dawn. The poem then contrasts this with the mystery of the sunset, depicted through the playful imagery of little yellow children climbing over a purple stile, suggesting the transition from day to night. Ultimately, a figure representing dusk gently leads them away, completing the day's cycle. This illustration of a day's passage uses simple yet rich metaphors, fostering an appreciation for nature's beauty and the wonder of daily transitions.

Read Online

I’ll tell you how the sun rose,—
A ribbon at a time.
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.

The hills untied their bonnets,
The bobolinks begun.
Then I said softly to myself,
“That must have been the sun!”
······
But how he set, I know not.
There seemed a purple stile
Which little yellow boys and girls
Were climbing all the while

Till when they reached the other side,
A dominie in gray
Put gently up the evening bars,
And led the flock away.