In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face - the face of one long dead-
Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The nightlamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died, and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
Despite the darkness, the face is light and angelic, owing to the lamp. The dark, juxtaposed with the ring of of light form the lamp being the only light source in the room, gives the appearance of a halo over Frances' head, which serves to emphasize her state of being deceased. To Longefellow as his character exists within the poem, it serves him an inescapable reminder that she is gone from an Earthly life.
The Cross of Snow