A Wife at Daybreak I Shall Be
poem 461
A Wife at Daybreak I Shall Be - meaning Summary
Dawn as Spiritual Marriage
The speaker envisions a personal transformation at dawn: from "Maid" at midnight to "Wife" by sunrise. The shift reads as a symbolic, inward marriage rather than a literal wedding, signaling passage from childhood and earthly ties toward spiritual union and eternity. Angels, a stumbling prayer, and an addressed Savior frame the moment as both fearful and ecstatic—an intimate encounter with the divine that completes the self. The poem compresses time (midnight to morning) to dramatize sudden spiritual initiation and the movement from temporal life into everlasting belonging.
Read Complete AnalysesA Wife at daybreak I shall be Sunrise Hast thou a Flag for me? At Midnight, I am but a Maid, How short it takes to make a Bride Then Midnight, I have passed from thee Unto the East, and Victory Midnight Good Night! I hear them call, The Angels bustle in the Hall Softly my Future climbs the Stair, I fumble at my Childhood’s prayer So soon to be a Child no more Eternity, I’m coming Sire, Savior I’ve seen the face before!
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