Lyric Poem · Winter
In the Bleak Midwinter
by Christina Rossetti · 1872
1. In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
2. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.
3. Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
4. Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
5. What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rossetti — quilloak.com/poems/in-the-bleak-midwinter
Quick facts
- Poem
- In the Bleak Midwinter
- Poet
- Christina Rossetti
- Published
- 1872
- Length
- 40 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems
- Themes
- Winter, 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
- 40 lines · 5 octaves
- Refrain
- “In the bleak mid-winter”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
Want the rules this form is measured against? Read what makes a lyric poem, or run your own draft through the form checker to see the same measurements on your lines. How we measure · Report a mistake
Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Christina Rossetti1830–1894
- Source record
- WikisourceIn the Bleak Midwinter by christina-rossetti, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1872
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 37bdb5608cf761b3…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
Keep reading
Snow Day
The QuillOak Editors
8 lines · lyric
The Santa Stakeout
The QuillOak Editors
8 lines · lyric
One Window's Glow
The QuillOak Editors
8 lines · lyric