Ballad · Kindness
Gates and Doors
by Joyce Kilmer · 1917
1There was a gentle hostler
2(And blessed be his name!)
3He opened up the stable
4The night Our Lady came.
5Our Lady and Saint Joseph,
6He gave them food and bed,
7And Jesus Christ has given him
8A glory round his head.
9So let the gate swing open
10However poor the yard,
11Lest weary people visit you
12And find their passage barred;
13Unlatch the door at midnight
14And let your lantern's glow
15Shine out to guide the traveler's feet
16To you across the snow.
17There was a courteous hostler
18(He is in Heaven to-night)
19He held Our Lady's bridle
20And helped her to alight;
21He spread clean straw before her
22Whereon she might lie down,
23And Jesus Christ has given him
24An everlasting crown.
25Unlock the door this evening
26And let your gate swing wide,
27Let all who ask for shelter
28Come speedily inside.
29What if your yard be narrow?
30What if your house be small?
31There is a Guest is coming
32Will glorify it all.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Gates and Doors” by Joyce Kilmer — quilloak.com/poems/gates-and-doors
Quick facts
- Poem
- Gates and Doors
- Poet
- Joyce Kilmer
- Published
- 1917
- Length
- 48 lines
- Form
- Ballad, Rhyming Poems
- Themes
- Kindness, Peace
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 48 lines · 6 octaves
- Line length
- Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
- Refrain
- “And Jesus Christ has given him”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
First published before 1929 and checked line by line against the cited copy. Full-text display is based on a United States term-expiry review; status can differ elsewhere.
- Author record
- Joyce Kilmer1886–1918
- Source record
- Project Gutenberg eBook #264, Main Street and Other PoemsGates and Doors; Main Street and Other Poems (New York: George H. Doran, 1917)
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-11-04
- Publication record
- Main Street and Other Poems (New York: George H. Doran, 1917)
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 6aa06b47c4c048fe…
- Editorial handling
- The indented refrain stanzas are printed flush left; the dedication under the title, “(For Richardson Little Wright),” is given in the note rather than as a line of the poem. No other change.