In the Bleak Midwinter
by Christina Rossetti
In the Bleak Midwinter is Christina Rossetti's 1872 Christmas poem, best known as a carol, and its five short stanzas are easy to learn by heart before Christmas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How to Memorize This Poem
Read the poem aloud a few times until you can hear its rhythm. Then make a picture for each line and place the pictures, one after another, along a route through a memory palace. Test yourself a stanza at a time by covering the text and reciting it, and go over it again the next day. Our guide to memorizing poetry explains each step.
For more to learn this December, see The Twelve Days of Christmas, with the lyrics and how to memorize them, and the other Christmas poems on our poems page.
For more poems, browse all the poems on this site or our longer list of poems to memorize. You can also join our friendly memory forum to ask questions.
