“How Can They Bear It Up in Heaven?”
HOW can they bear it up in heaven,They who so loved, and love us yet,If they can see us still, and knowThe heavy hours that come and go,The fears that sting, the cares that fret,The hopes belied, the helps ungiven?
Can they sit watching us all day,Measure our tears, and count our sighs,And mark each throb and stab of pain,The ungranted wish, the longing vain,And still smile on with happy eyes,Content on golden harps to play?
Ah no! we will not do them wrong!When mothers hear their babies cryFor broken toy or trivial woe,They smile, for all their love,—they knowLaughter shall follow presently,And sighing turn to merry song.
They are not cruel, that they smile;Their eyes, grown old, can farther see,Weighing the large thing and the lessWith wise, experienced tenderness,—The moment’s grief with joy to beIn such a little, little while.
Just so the angels, starry-eyed,With vision cleared and made all-wise,Look past the storm-rack and the rainAnd shifting mists of mortal painTo where the steadfast sunshine lies,And everlasting summer-tide.
They see, beyond the pang, the strife,(To us how long, to them how brief!)The compensation and the balm,The victor’s wreath, the conqueror’s palm—They see the healing laid to grief,They see unfold the perfect life.
For all our blind, impatient pain,Our desolate and sore estate,They see the door that open isOf Heaven’s abundant treasuries,The comforts and the cures that waitThe bow of promise in the rain.
And even as they watch, they smile,With eyes of love, as mothers may,Nor grieve too much although we cry,Because joy cometh presently,And sunshine, and the fair new day,When we have wept a little while.
Words in this poem
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
- trivial a.
- Found anywhere; common. [L. trivialis, properly, that is in, or belongs to, the crossroads or public streets; hence, that may be found everywhere, common, fr. trivium a place where thre]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
“How Can They Bear It Up in Heaven?” is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Few More Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #49518; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Susan Coolidge, “How Can They Bear It Up in Heaven?”, in A Few More Verses (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49518, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coolidge-few-more-verses/how-can-they-bear-it-up-in-heaven.html, id L23457.
Form and metre
“How Can They Bear It Up in Heaven?” is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABCCBA, complete in 5 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -ABBA- heaven · yetA · knowB · goB · fretA · ungiven
- 2 ABCCBA dayA · sighsB · painC · vainC · eyesB · playA
- 3 A-BB-A wrongA · cry · woeB · knowB · presently · songA
- 4 ABCCBA smileA · seeB · lessC · tendernessC · beB · whileA
- 5 ABCCBA eyedA · wiseB · rainC · painC · liesB · tideA
- 6 ABCCBA strifeA · briefB · balmC · palmC · griefB · lifeA
- 7 ABCCBA painA · estateB · isC · treasuriesC · waitB · rainA
- 8 AB--BA smileA · mayB · cry · presently · dayB · whileA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| HOW can they bear it up in heaven, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| They who so loved, and love us yet, | 8 | ········ |
| If they can see us still, and know | 8 | ········ |
| The heavy hours that come and go, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| The fears that sting, the cares that fret, | 8 | ········ |
| The hopes belied, the helps ungiven? | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| Can they sit watching us all day, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Measure our tears, and count our sighs, | 8 | /˘/···/· |
| And mark each throb and stab of pain, | 8 | ········ |
| The ungranted wish, the longing vain, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And still smile on with happy eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Content on golden harps to play? | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Ah no! we will not do them wrong! | 8 | ········ |
| When mothers hear their babies cry | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For broken toy or trivial woe, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They smile, for all their love,—they know | 8 | ········ |
| Laughter shall follow presently, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| And sighing turn to merry song. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They are not cruel, that they smile; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their eyes, grown old, can farther see, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Weighing the large thing and the less | 8 | /˘······ |
| With wise, experienced tenderness,— | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| The moment’s grief with joy to be | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In such a little, little while. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Just so the angels, starry-eyed, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With vision cleared and made all-wise, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Look past the storm-rack and the rain | 8 | ········ |
| And shifting mists of mortal pain | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To where the steadfast sunshine lies, | 8 | ···/·/·· |
| And everlasting summer-tide. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| They see, beyond the pang, the strife, | 8 | ········ |
| (To us how long, to them how brief!) | 8 | ········ |
| The compensation and the balm, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The victor’s wreath, the conqueror’s palm— | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They see the healing laid to grief, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| They see unfold the perfect life. | 8 | ··˘/·/·· |
| For all our blind, impatient pain, | 8 | ··/·˘/˘· |
| Our desolate and sore estate, | 8 | //˘···˘/ |
| They see the door that open is | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of Heaven’s abundant treasuries, | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘˘ |
| The comforts and the cures that wait | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The bow of promise in the rain. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And even as they watch, they smile, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With eyes of love, as mothers may, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor grieve too much although we cry, | 8 | ········ |
| Because joy cometh presently, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And sunshine, and the fair new day, | 8 | ·/······ |
| When we have wept a little while. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.