A Birthday, Christina Rossetti, Poem, Analysis, Summary, Themes
"A Birthday" by Christina Rossetti is a joyful and celebratory poem that expresses the speaker's exuberant happiness upon the arrival of their beloved. Through vivid and vibrant imagery, the poem captures the heart's elation, comparing it to a singing bird, an apple tree laden with fruit, and a vibrant rainbow shell. The speaker's joy is so immense that they envision a lavish dais adorned with luxurious fabrics, intricate carvings of doves and pomegranates, and opulent decorations of gold and silver. The poem culminates in the realization that the arrival of the speaker's love marks the birthday of their life, encapsulating the profound significance and transformative power of love.
A Birthday Poem Text
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon …