The speaker has no interest in morning’s noisy, demanding energy—the shivering aspen, greedy sunflowers and sumac, the sun’s glare, a sparrow’s chatter. All of it feels harsh compared with what she actually wants: evening and night. Night is described as gentle, romantic, almost maternal—cool, tender, yielding, with a pale, listless moon. She asks for a small valley tucked beside a hill, as safe and still as a monk in a monastery, and for a white road glistening like moonlight and tall dark hemlocks. The mood is quiet, introspective, and a little melancholy, but also full of relief. The speaker isn’t just tired of daylight; she finds genuine comfort and beauty in darkness, where the world feels softer and more protected.
What Do I Care for Morning — Summary
What do I care for morning, For a shivering aspen tree, For sun flowers and sumac Opening greedily? What do I care for morning, For the glare of the rising sun, For a sparrow’s noisy prating, For another day begun? Give me the beauty of evening, The cool consummation of night, And the moon like a love-sick lady, Listless and wan and white. Give me a little valley Huddled beside a hill, Like a monk in a monastery, Safe and contented and still, Give me the white road glistening, A strand of the pale moon’s hair, And the tall hemlocks towering Dark as the moon is fair. Oh what do I care for morning, Naked and newly born-- Night is here, yielding and tender-- What do I care for dawn!