ESSENTIAL POEMS
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Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer
This is a song to celebrate banks,
Because they are full of money and you go into them and all
you hear is clinks and clanks,
Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills,
.....
Ogden Nash
This is a song to celebrate banks,
Because they are full of money and you go into them and all
you hear is clinks and clanks,
Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills,
.....
Ogden Nash
The Guitarist Tunes Up
With what attentive courtesy he bent
Over his instrument;
Not as a lordly conquerer who could
Command both wire and wood,
.....
Frances Darwin Cornford
With what attentive courtesy he bent
Over his instrument;
Not as a lordly conquerer who could
Command both wire and wood,
.....
Frances Darwin Cornford
The Fudges In England. Letter Vii. From Miss Fanny Fudge, To Her Cousin, Miss Kitty ----.
IRREGULAR ODE.
Bring me the slumbering souls of flowers,
While yet, beneath some northern sky,
.....
Thomas Moore
IRREGULAR ODE.
Bring me the slumbering souls of flowers,
While yet, beneath some northern sky,
.....
Thomas Moore
A Hidden Life
Proudly the youth, sudden with manhood crowned,
Went walking by his horses, the first time,
That morning, to the plough. No soldier gay
Feels at his side the throb of the gold hilt
.....
George Macdonald
Proudly the youth, sudden with manhood crowned,
Went walking by his horses, the first time,
That morning, to the plough. No soldier gay
Feels at his side the throb of the gold hilt
.....
George Macdonald
Only Words... My Son
Yield to love; both a proper self-love
and a sincere love for others.
One that will do no harm to you or your neighbor,
both here and for eternity.
.....
David Carolissen
Yield to love; both a proper self-love
and a sincere love for others.
One that will do no harm to you or your neighbor,
both here and for eternity.
.....
David Carolissen
An Essay On Man: Epistle I.
THE DESIGN.
Having proposed to write some pieces on human life and manners, such as (to use my Lord Bacon's expression) come home to men's business and bosoms, I thought it more satisfactory to begin with considering man in the abstract, his nature and his state; since, to prove any moral duty, to enforce any moral precept, or to examine the perfection or imperfection of any creature whatsoever, it is necessary first to know what condition and relation it is placed in, and what is the proper end and purpose of its being.
.....
Alexander Pope
THE DESIGN.
Having proposed to write some pieces on human life and manners, such as (to use my Lord Bacon's expression) come home to men's business and bosoms, I thought it more satisfactory to begin with considering man in the abstract, his nature and his state; since, to prove any moral duty, to enforce any moral precept, or to examine the perfection or imperfection of any creature whatsoever, it is necessary first to know what condition and relation it is placed in, and what is the proper end and purpose of its being.
.....
Alexander Pope
Love Is Blind
And can you tell me Love is blind
Because your faults he will not find,
Because the image that he sees
Is one of splendid mysteries?
.....
John Le Gay Brereton
And can you tell me Love is blind
Because your faults he will not find,
Because the image that he sees
Is one of splendid mysteries?
.....
John Le Gay Brereton
Bus East
Society has good intentions Bureaucracy is like a friend
5 years ago - other furies other losses -
America's
.....
Jack Kerouac
Society has good intentions Bureaucracy is like a friend
5 years ago - other furies other losses -
America's
.....
Jack Kerouac
Quatrains Of Life
What has my youth been that I love it thus,
Sad youth, to all but one grown tedious,
Stale as the news which last week wearied us,
Or a tired actor's tale told to an empty house?
.....
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
What has my youth been that I love it thus,
Sad youth, to all but one grown tedious,
Stale as the news which last week wearied us,
Or a tired actor's tale told to an empty house?
.....
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Don Juan: Canto The Fourteenth
If from great nature's or our own abyss
Of thought we could but snatch a certainty,
Perhaps mankind might find the path they miss--
But then 'twould spoil much good philosophy.
.....
George Gordon Byron
If from great nature's or our own abyss
Of thought we could but snatch a certainty,
Perhaps mankind might find the path they miss--
But then 'twould spoil much good philosophy.
.....
George Gordon Byron
Fish, The
In a cool curving world he lies
And ripples with dark ecstasies.
The kind luxurious lapse and steal
Shapes all his universe to feel
.....
Rupert Brooke
In a cool curving world he lies
And ripples with dark ecstasies.
The kind luxurious lapse and steal
Shapes all his universe to feel
.....
Rupert Brooke
The Poem Cat
Sometimes the poem
doesn't want to come;
it hides from the poet
like a playful cat
.....
Erica Jong
Sometimes the poem
doesn't want to come;
it hides from the poet
like a playful cat
.....
Erica Jong
The Answer
Then what is the answer?- Not to be deluded by dreams.
To know that great civilizations have broken down into violence,
and their tyrants come, many times before.
When open violence appears, to avoid it with honor or choose
.....
Robinson Jeffers
Then what is the answer?- Not to be deluded by dreams.
To know that great civilizations have broken down into violence,
and their tyrants come, many times before.
When open violence appears, to avoid it with honor or choose
.....
Robinson Jeffers
Hans Huckebein (the Unlucky Raven) Prologue
Sosehr sein Ende mich bewegt,
Ich durft' es anders nicht vermelden. -
Er stirbt - denn tragisch angelegt
War der Charakter dieses Helden.
.....
Wilhelm Busch
Sosehr sein Ende mich bewegt,
Ich durft' es anders nicht vermelden. -
Er stirbt - denn tragisch angelegt
War der Charakter dieses Helden.
.....
Wilhelm Busch
Nero
This Rome, that was the toil of many men,
The consummation of laborious years-
Fulfilment's crown to visions of the dead
And image of the wide desire of kings-
.....
Clark Ashton Smith
This Rome, that was the toil of many men,
The consummation of laborious years-
Fulfilment's crown to visions of the dead
And image of the wide desire of kings-
.....
Clark Ashton Smith
The Fish
In a cool curving world he lies
And ripples with dark ecstasies.
The kind luxurious lapse and steal
Shapes all his universe to feel
.....
Rupert Brooke
In a cool curving world he lies
And ripples with dark ecstasies.
The kind luxurious lapse and steal
Shapes all his universe to feel
.....
Rupert Brooke
An Open Fire
These logs with drama and with dream are rife,
For all their golden Summers and green Springs
Through leaf and root they sucked the forest's life,
Drank in its secret, deep, essential things,
.....
Don Marquis
These logs with drama and with dream are rife,
For all their golden Summers and green Springs
Through leaf and root they sucked the forest's life,
Drank in its secret, deep, essential things,
.....
Don Marquis
Essential Oils'are Wrung
675
Essential Oils-are wrung-
The Attar from the Rose
.....
Emily Dickinson
675
Essential Oils-are wrung-
The Attar from the Rose
.....
Emily Dickinson
A True Story.
(Read Before A Meeting Of The Danville Scribbler Club.)
Dear friends, to-night the inspiration of my theme
.....
George W. Doneghy
(Read Before A Meeting Of The Danville Scribbler Club.)
Dear friends, to-night the inspiration of my theme
.....
George W. Doneghy
Politics For Tots: Lesson 2~ "the Party"
Now, children, in this Lesson Two,
Briefly we'll make some mention
Of party, just in case that you
Some day, with the intention
.....
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Now, children, in this Lesson Two,
Briefly we'll make some mention
Of party, just in case that you
Some day, with the intention
.....
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Ode Ix: At Study
I.
Whither did my fancy stray?
By what magic drawn away
Have I left my studious theme?
.....
Mark Akenside
I.
Whither did my fancy stray?
By what magic drawn away
Have I left my studious theme?
.....
Mark Akenside
Juvenilia, An Ode To Natural Beauty
There is a power whose inspiration fills
Nature's fair fabric, sun- and star-inwrought,
Like airy dew ere any drop distils,
Like perfume in the laden flower, like aught
.....
Alan Seeger
There is a power whose inspiration fills
Nature's fair fabric, sun- and star-inwrought,
Like airy dew ere any drop distils,
Like perfume in the laden flower, like aught
.....
Alan Seeger
Cackle
Oh, my brothers do not wrangle.
When the sweets of office dangle
At a most inviting angle
Be polite.
.....
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Oh, my brothers do not wrangle.
When the sweets of office dangle
At a most inviting angle
Be polite.
.....
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
A Death In The Bush
The hut was built of bark and shrunken slabs,
That wore the marks of many rains, and showed
Dry flaws wherein had crept and nestled rot.
Moreover, round the bases of the bark
.....
Henry Kendall
The hut was built of bark and shrunken slabs,
That wore the marks of many rains, and showed
Dry flaws wherein had crept and nestled rot.
Moreover, round the bases of the bark
.....
Henry Kendall
The Homestead
AGAINST the wooded hills it stands,
Ghost of a dead home, staring through
Its broken lights on wasted lands
Where old-time harvests grew.
.....
John Greenleaf Whittier
AGAINST the wooded hills it stands,
Ghost of a dead home, staring through
Its broken lights on wasted lands
Where old-time harvests grew.
.....
John Greenleaf Whittier
Apology For Bad Dreams
I
In the purple light, heavy with redwood, the slopes drop seaward,
Headlong convexities of forest, drawn in together to the steep
ravine. Below, on the sea-cliff,
.....
Robinson Jeffers
I
In the purple light, heavy with redwood, the slopes drop seaward,
Headlong convexities of forest, drawn in together to the steep
ravine. Below, on the sea-cliff,
.....
Robinson Jeffers
Boats In A Fog
Sports and gallantries, the stage, the arts, the antics of dancers,
The exuberant voices of music,
Have charm for children but lack nobility; it is bitter earnestness
That makes beauty; the mind
.....
Robinson Jeffers
Sports and gallantries, the stage, the arts, the antics of dancers,
The exuberant voices of music,
Have charm for children but lack nobility; it is bitter earnestness
That makes beauty; the mind
.....
Robinson Jeffers
From: Time In The Rock
XXIV
If one voice, not another, must speak first,
out of the silence, the stillness, the precedingâ??
speaking clearly, speaking slowly, measuring calmly
.....
Conrad Potter Aiken
XXIV
If one voice, not another, must speak first,
out of the silence, the stillness, the precedingâ??
speaking clearly, speaking slowly, measuring calmly
.....
Conrad Potter Aiken
To The Moon [earlier Version]
WITH silent step behold her steal
Over those envious clouds that hid
Till now her face, then standâ??a seal
Of silver on heavenâ??s mighty lid!
.....
Charles Harpur
WITH silent step behold her steal
Over those envious clouds that hid
Till now her face, then standâ??a seal
Of silver on heavenâ??s mighty lid!
.....
Charles Harpur
John
Before he wrote a poem, he learned the measure
That living in the future gives a farm--
Propinquity of mules and cows, the charmed
Insouciance of hens, the fellowship,
.....
Edgar Bowers
Before he wrote a poem, he learned the measure
That living in the future gives a farm--
Propinquity of mules and cows, the charmed
Insouciance of hens, the fellowship,
.....
Edgar Bowers
A Hymn Of Heavenly Beauty
Rapt with the rage of mine own ravish'd thought,
Through contemplation of those goodly sights,
And glorious images in heaven wrought,
Whose wondrous beauty, breathing sweet delights
.....
Edmund Spenser
Rapt with the rage of mine own ravish'd thought,
Through contemplation of those goodly sights,
And glorious images in heaven wrought,
Whose wondrous beauty, breathing sweet delights
.....
Edmund Spenser
An Hymn Of Heavenly Beauty
Rapt with the rage of mine own ravish'd thought,
Through contemplation of those goodly sights,
And glorious images in heaven wrought,
Whose wondrous beauty, breathing sweet delights
.....
Edmund Spenser
Rapt with the rage of mine own ravish'd thought,
Through contemplation of those goodly sights,
And glorious images in heaven wrought,
Whose wondrous beauty, breathing sweet delights
.....
Edmund Spenser
Not To The Staring Day
Not to the staring Day,
For all the importunate questionings he pursues
In his big, violent voice,
Shall those mild things of bulk and multitude,
.....
William Ernest Henley
Not to the staring Day,
For all the importunate questionings he pursues
In his big, violent voice,
Shall those mild things of bulk and multitude,
.....
William Ernest Henley
The Kettle
Thereâ??s many a house of grandeur,
With turret, tower and dome,
That knows not peace or comfort,
And does not prove a home.
.....
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Thereâ??s many a house of grandeur,
With turret, tower and dome,
That knows not peace or comfort,
And does not prove a home.
.....
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
A Prayer To The Father Of Heaven
O radiant luminary of light interminable,
Celestial Father, potential God of might,
Of heaven and earth O Lord incomparable,
Of all perfections the essential most perfite !
.....
John Skelton
O radiant luminary of light interminable,
Celestial Father, potential God of might,
Of heaven and earth O Lord incomparable,
Of all perfections the essential most perfite !
.....
John Skelton
Movement Of Bodies
Those of you that have got through the rest, I am going to rapidly
Devote a little time to showing you, those that can master it,
A few ideas about tactics, which must not be confused
With what we call strategy. Tactics is merely
.....
Henry Reed
Those of you that have got through the rest, I am going to rapidly
Devote a little time to showing you, those that can master it,
A few ideas about tactics, which must not be confused
With what we call strategy. Tactics is merely
.....
Henry Reed
The Candidate.
Enough of Actors--let them play the player,
And, free from censure, fret, sweat, strut, and stare;
Garrick[1] abroad, what motives can engage
To waste one couplet on a barren stage?
.....
Charles Churchill
Enough of Actors--let them play the player,
And, free from censure, fret, sweat, strut, and stare;
Garrick[1] abroad, what motives can engage
To waste one couplet on a barren stage?
.....
Charles Churchill
Paradise Lost - Book Ii
High on a Throne of Royal State, which far
Outshon the wealth of Ormus and of Ind,
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand
Showrs on her Kings Barbaric Pearl and Gold,
.....
John Milton
High on a Throne of Royal State, which far
Outshon the wealth of Ormus and of Ind,
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand
Showrs on her Kings Barbaric Pearl and Gold,
.....
John Milton
Sphinx And Medusa
The old constraint of an essential bond
Hath linkt them in my mind: opposed they stare,
Twin silences, that through Time's Otherwhere,
The ruinous past, thus each to each respond,
.....
Clark Ashton Smith
The old constraint of an essential bond
Hath linkt them in my mind: opposed they stare,
Twin silences, that through Time's Otherwhere,
The ruinous past, thus each to each respond,
.....
Clark Ashton Smith
The Pleasures Of Imagination - The Second Book - Poem
Thus far of beauty and the pleasing forms
Which man's untutor'd fancy, from the scenes
Imperfect of this ever-changing world,
Creates; and views, inamor'd. Now my song
.....
Mark Akenside
Thus far of beauty and the pleasing forms
Which man's untutor'd fancy, from the scenes
Imperfect of this ever-changing world,
Creates; and views, inamor'd. Now my song
.....
Mark Akenside
Ode Ix(ii); At Study
Whither did my fancy stray?
By what magic drawn away
Have I left my studious theme?
From this philosophic page,
.....
Mark Akenside
Whither did my fancy stray?
By what magic drawn away
Have I left my studious theme?
From this philosophic page,
.....
Mark Akenside
The Excursion - Book First - The Wanderer
'Twas summer, and the sun had mounted high:
Southward the landscape indistinctly glared
Through a pale steam; but all the northern downs,
In clearest air ascending, showed far off
.....
William Wordsworth
'Twas summer, and the sun had mounted high:
Southward the landscape indistinctly glared
Through a pale steam; but all the northern downs,
In clearest air ascending, showed far off
.....
William Wordsworth
Gold And Silver Fishes In A Vase
The soaring lark is blest as proud
When at heaven's gate she sings;
The roving bee proclaims aloud
Her flight by vocal wings;
.....
William Wordsworth
The soaring lark is blest as proud
When at heaven's gate she sings;
The roving bee proclaims aloud
Her flight by vocal wings;
.....
William Wordsworth
Insomnia
Sleepless himself to give to others sleep.
He giveth His beloved sleep.
.....
James Thomson - (bysshe Vanolis)
Sleepless himself to give to others sleep.
He giveth His beloved sleep.
.....
James Thomson - (bysshe Vanolis)
Sordello: Book The Fifth
Is it the same Sordello in the dusk
As at the dawn? merely a perished husk
Now, that arose a power fit to build
Up Rome again? The proud conception chilled
.....
Robert Browning
Is it the same Sordello in the dusk
As at the dawn? merely a perished husk
Now, that arose a power fit to build
Up Rome again? The proud conception chilled
.....
Robert Browning
English Writers On America - Prose
Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation, rousting herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks; methinks I see her as an eagle, mewing her mighty youth, and kindling her endazzled eyes at the full mid-day beam.
- MILTON ON THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
.....
Washington Irving
Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation, rousting herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks; methinks I see her as an eagle, mewing her mighty youth, and kindling her endazzled eyes at the full mid-day beam.
- MILTON ON THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.
.....
Washington Irving
Lethe (i)
I flow beneath the columns that upbear
The world, and all of heaven and limbo and hell;
Foamless I glide, where sounds nor glimmers tell
My motion nadirward: no moment's flare
.....
Clark Ashton Smith
I flow beneath the columns that upbear
The world, and all of heaven and limbo and hell;
Foamless I glide, where sounds nor glimmers tell
My motion nadirward: no moment's flare
.....
Clark Ashton Smith