This is the midnight of the century,
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Saturday, 31 December 2011
Friday, 30 December 2011
Lullaby - Louisa May Alcott
Now the day is done,
Now the shepherd sun
Drives his white flocks from the sky;
Now the flowers rest
On their mother's breast,
Hushed by her low lullaby.
Now the shepherd sun
Drives his white flocks from the sky;
Now the flowers rest
On their mother's breast,
Hushed by her low lullaby.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Anniversaries - Aldous Huxley
Once more the windless days are here,
Quiet of autumn, when the year
Halts and looks backward and draws breath
Before it plunges into death.
Quiet of autumn, when the year
Halts and looks backward and draws breath
Before it plunges into death.
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Love And Age - Thomas Love Peacock
I play’d with you ’mid cowslips blowing,
When I was six and you were four;
When garlands weaving, flower-balls throwing,
Were pleasures soon to please no more.
Through groves and meads, o’er grass and heather,
With little playmates, to and fro,
We wander’d hand in hand together;
But that was sixty years ago.
When I was six and you were four;
When garlands weaving, flower-balls throwing,
Were pleasures soon to please no more.
Through groves and meads, o’er grass and heather,
With little playmates, to and fro,
We wander’d hand in hand together;
But that was sixty years ago.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
The Nativity - Henry Vaughan
Peace? and to all the world? sure, One
And He the Prince of Peace, hath none.
And He the Prince of Peace, hath none.
Monday, 26 December 2011
My Little Doll - Charles Kingsley
I once had a sweet little doll, dears,
The prettiest doll in the world;
The prettiest doll in the world;
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Journey Of The Magi - T.S. Eliot
'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'
Friday, 23 December 2011
[little tree] - ee cummings
little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Christmas Bells - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
I Saw Three Ships - Anonymous
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas day in the morning.
On Christmas day, on Christmas day;
I saw three ships come sailing in
On Christmas day in the morning.
Monday, 19 December 2011
The House Of Christmas - G. K. Chesterton
There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.
Sunday, 18 December 2011
When Christmas Comes - Virna Sheard
For thee, my small one--trinkets and new toys,
The wine of life and all its keenest joys,
When Christmas comes.
For me, the broken playthings of the past
That in my folded hands I still hold fast,
When Christmas comes.
The wine of life and all its keenest joys,
When Christmas comes.
For me, the broken playthings of the past
That in my folded hands I still hold fast,
When Christmas comes.
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Love Came Down at Christmas - Christina Georgina Rossetti
Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.
Friday, 16 December 2011
The Oxen - Thomas Hardy
Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
“Now they are all on their knees,”
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.
“Now they are all on their knees,”
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Star Of My Heart - Vachel Lindsay
Star of my heart, I follow from afar.
Sweet Love on high, lead on where shepherds are,
Where Time is not, and only dreamers are.
Sweet Love on high, lead on where shepherds are,
Where Time is not, and only dreamers are.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Home For Christmas — Old Style - Cicely Fox Smith
"I'm goin' to get 'er 'ome
For Christmas," said the skipper
O' the clipper
Flyin' Foam . . .
For Christmas," said the skipper
O' the clipper
Flyin' Foam . . .
Monday, 12 December 2011
A Visit from St. Nicholas - Clement Clark Moore
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Christmas Gifts - Carolyn Wells
Ten Christmas presents standing in a line;
Robert took the bicycle, then there were nine.
Robert took the bicycle, then there were nine.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Christmas In The Olden Time - Sir Walter Scott
On Christmas-eve the bells were rung;
The damsel donned her kirtle sheen;
The hall was dressed with holly green;
Forth to the wood did merry men go,
To gather in the mistletoe.
The damsel donned her kirtle sheen;
The hall was dressed with holly green;
Forth to the wood did merry men go,
To gather in the mistletoe.
Friday, 9 December 2011
At Christmas - Edgar A. Guest
A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;
He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here;
Then he's thinking more of others than be's thought the months before,
And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.
He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;
When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.
He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here;
Then he's thinking more of others than be's thought the months before,
And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.
He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;
When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
The Christmas Homes of England - Caroline Hayward
The Christmas homes of England!
How far-famed and how dear;
In bright array they ever stand,
That glad day of the year;
When gathered round the hearth-stone,
The loved ones joyful meet,
With one accord from far and near,
The circle glad to greet.
How far-famed and how dear;
In bright array they ever stand,
That glad day of the year;
When gathered round the hearth-stone,
The loved ones joyful meet,
With one accord from far and near,
The circle glad to greet.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Christmas At Sea - Robert Louis Stevenson
The sheets were frozen hard, and they cut the naked hand;
The decks were like a slide, where a seaman scarce could stand;
The wind was a nor'wester, blowing squally off the sea;
And cliffs and spouting breakers were the only things a-lee.
The decks were like a slide, where a seaman scarce could stand;
The wind was a nor'wester, blowing squally off the sea;
And cliffs and spouting breakers were the only things a-lee.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Christmas Bells - Hattie Howard
Ring out, O bells, in joyful chime!
Again we hail the Christmas time;
In melting, mellow atmosphere,
The crown and glory of the year.
Again we hail the Christmas time;
In melting, mellow atmosphere,
The crown and glory of the year.
Monday, 5 December 2011
John Greenleaf Whittier - After Election
THE day's sharp strife is ended now,
Our work is done, God knoweth how!
As on the thronged, unrestful town
The patience of the moon looks down,
I wait to hear, beside the wire,
The voices of its tongues of fire.
Our work is done, God knoweth how!
As on the thronged, unrestful town
The patience of the moon looks down,
I wait to hear, beside the wire,
The voices of its tongues of fire.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Friday, 2 December 2011
In Memoriam, July 19, 1914 - Anna Akhmatova
We aged a hundred years and this descended
In just one hour, as at a stroke.
The summer had been brief and now was ended;
The body of the ploughed plains lay in smoke.
In just one hour, as at a stroke.
The summer had been brief and now was ended;
The body of the ploughed plains lay in smoke.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Song: A youth for Jane with ardour sighed... - Amelia Opie
A youth for Jane with ardour sighed,
The maid with sparkling eye;
But to his vows she still replied,
‘I’ll hear you by and by.’
The maid with sparkling eye;
But to his vows she still replied,
‘I’ll hear you by and by.’
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Hot Sun, Cool Fire - George Peele
Hot sun, cool fire, tempered with sweet air,
Black shade, fair nurse, shadow my white hair.
Black shade, fair nurse, shadow my white hair.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Song of the Little Cripple at the Street Corner - Rainer Maria Rilke
Read the translator's notes
Maybe my soul’s all right.
But my body’s all wrong,
All bent and twisted,
All this that hurts me so.
Maybe my soul’s all right.
But my body’s all wrong,
All bent and twisted,
All this that hurts me so.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Saturday, 26 November 2011
The Ballad of Sally in our Alley - Henry Carey
Of all the Girls that are so smart
There’s none like pretty SALLY,
She is the Darling of my Heart,
And she lives in our Alley.
There is no Lady in the Land
Is half so sweet as SALLY,
She is the Darling of my Heart,
And she lives in our Alley.
There’s none like pretty SALLY,
She is the Darling of my Heart,
And she lives in our Alley.
There is no Lady in the Land
Is half so sweet as SALLY,
She is the Darling of my Heart,
And she lives in our Alley.
Friday, 25 November 2011
Take, Oh, Take Those Lips Away - John Fletcher
Take, oh, take those lips away
That so sweetly were forsworn
That so sweetly were forsworn
Thursday, 24 November 2011
The Arrow - William Butler Yeats
I thought of your beauty, and this arrow,
Made out of a wild thought, is in my marrow.
Made out of a wild thought, is in my marrow.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Agamede’s Song - Arthur Upson
Grow, grow, thou little tree,
His body at the roots of thee;
Since last year’s loveliness in death
The living beauty nourisheth.
His body at the roots of thee;
Since last year’s loveliness in death
The living beauty nourisheth.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
People are Legends - Kevin Gilbert
Kill the legend
Butcher it
With your acute cyncicisms
Your paternal superfluities
With your unwise wisdom
Butcher it
With your acute cyncicisms
Your paternal superfluities
With your unwise wisdom
Monday, 21 November 2011
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Saturday, 19 November 2011
The Green Isle of Lovers - Robert Charles Sands
They say that, afar in the land of the west,
Where the bright golden sun sinks in glory to rest,
Mid ferns where the hunter ne’er ventured to tread,
A fair lake unruffled and sparkling is spread;
Where, lost in his course, the rapt Indian discovers,
In distance seen dimly, the green Isle of Lovers.
Where the bright golden sun sinks in glory to rest,
Mid ferns where the hunter ne’er ventured to tread,
A fair lake unruffled and sparkling is spread;
Where, lost in his course, the rapt Indian discovers,
In distance seen dimly, the green Isle of Lovers.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Spring - Thomas Nashe
Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year’s pleasant king;
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing—
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing—
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
Thursday, 17 November 2011
The Ordinary Man - Robert Service
If you and I should chance to meet,
I guess you wouldn't care;
I'm sure you'd pass me in the street
As if I wasn't there;
You'd never look me in the face,
My modest mug to scan,
Because I'm just a commonplace
And Ordinary Man.
I guess you wouldn't care;
I'm sure you'd pass me in the street
As if I wasn't there;
You'd never look me in the face,
My modest mug to scan,
Because I'm just a commonplace
And Ordinary Man.
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Corrymeela - Moira O’Neill
Over here in England I’m helpin’ wi’ the hay,
And I wisht I was in Ireland the livelong day;
Weary on the English hay, an’ sorra take the wheat!
Och! Corrymeela, an’ the blue sky over it.
And I wisht I was in Ireland the livelong day;
Weary on the English hay, an’ sorra take the wheat!
Och! Corrymeela, an’ the blue sky over it.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Eileen Aroon - Gerald Griffin
When, like the early rose,
Eileen aroon!
Beauty in childhood blows,
Eileen aroon!
When, like a diadem,
Buds blush around the stem,
Which is the fairest gem?
Eileen aroon!
Eileen aroon!
Beauty in childhood blows,
Eileen aroon!
When, like a diadem,
Buds blush around the stem,
Which is the fairest gem?
Eileen aroon!
Monday, 14 November 2011
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Presence - T.E. Brown
Expecting him, my door was open wide:
Then I looked round
If any lack of service might be found,
And saw him at my side:
How entered, by what secret stair,
I know not, knowing only he was there.
T.E. Brown (1830 - 1897) Isle of Man, England
Then I looked round
If any lack of service might be found,
And saw him at my side:
How entered, by what secret stair,
I know not, knowing only he was there.
T.E. Brown (1830 - 1897) Isle of Man, England
Friday, 11 November 2011
How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Manchester TRAFFIC - Mark Stubbs
There once was a project at Manchester Met
To transform curriculum was the goal that we set
Rewriting every module was the name of the game
Enhancing assessment for learning, our overall aim
To transform curriculum was the goal that we set
Rewriting every module was the name of the game
Enhancing assessment for learning, our overall aim
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Monday, 7 November 2011
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Words on a train - Bruce Levitan
On the commuter train home
listening to two young people
slagging off their friends:
They talked in consonant free jargon,
not an H or a T to be heard --
but the invective was clear and rough.
Would it be the same in Rome?
Do youths descend from Dante's steeple
to incoherently speak? The same trends
across our world -- really so far gone
that we might as well be a herd
that speaks only in acidic guff?
Would Nietzsche include in his tome
of humanity's idiocy and evil,
thoughts on how to cleanse
or how to kill the dragon?
How far must the spoken word
be destroyed before we've had enough?
Bruce Levitan (born 1955) England (born: Kenya)
listening to two young people
slagging off their friends:
They talked in consonant free jargon,
not an H or a T to be heard --
but the invective was clear and rough.
Would it be the same in Rome?
Do youths descend from Dante's steeple
to incoherently speak? The same trends
across our world -- really so far gone
that we might as well be a herd
that speaks only in acidic guff?
Would Nietzsche include in his tome
of humanity's idiocy and evil,
thoughts on how to cleanse
or how to kill the dragon?
How far must the spoken word
be destroyed before we've had enough?
Bruce Levitan (born 1955) England (born: Kenya)
Saturday, 5 November 2011
We Waves - August Strindberg
We, we waves,
That are rocking the winds
To rest—
Green cradles, we waves!
That are rocking the winds
To rest—
Green cradles, we waves!
Friday, 4 November 2011
I Do Not Know - Chihwan Yu
Whose footprint is that paulonia leaf
That drops softly, rousing ripples in the windless air?
whose face is that blue sky
Glimpsed between the threatening, dark clouds
Blown by the west wind after a long rain?
That drops softly, rousing ripples in the windless air?
whose face is that blue sky
Glimpsed between the threatening, dark clouds
Blown by the west wind after a long rain?
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
The Enchantment - Thomas Otway
I did but look and love awhile,
’Twas but for one half-hour;
Then to resist I had no will,
And now I have no power.
’Twas but for one half-hour;
Then to resist I had no will,
And now I have no power.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Sunday, 30 October 2011
The Happy Man - G. K. Chesterton
To teach the grey earth like a child,
To bid the heavens repent,
I only ask from Fate the gift
Of one man well content.
To bid the heavens repent,
I only ask from Fate the gift
Of one man well content.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Afternoon On A Hill - Edna St. Vincent Millay
I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
Friday, 28 October 2011
To a Sea Shell - Hubert Church
Friend of my chamber—O thou spiral shell
That murmurest of the ever-murmuring sea!
That murmurest of the ever-murmuring sea!
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Flesh - Mary Eliza Fullerton
I have seen a gum-tree,
Scarred by the blaze
Of the pioneer axe,
Mend after long days;
Lip to lip shut
Of the separate bark,
Till the gape of the wound
Was a vanishing mark.
Scarred by the blaze
Of the pioneer axe,
Mend after long days;
Lip to lip shut
Of the separate bark,
Till the gape of the wound
Was a vanishing mark.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Why I Love Them - Mary Alice Walton
I would tell thee of Stella, how she made glad the hours,
So oft calling mother with strewn wreaths and flowers,
Blue eyes fondly glancing, and gleefully dance,
While singing so gayly or skipping, perchance.
So oft calling mother with strewn wreaths and flowers,
Blue eyes fondly glancing, and gleefully dance,
While singing so gayly or skipping, perchance.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
A Silent Mouth - Cathal O’Byrne
O little green leaf on the bough, you hear the lark in morn,
You hear the grey feet of the wind stir in the shimmering corn,
You hear, low down in the grass,
The Singing Sidhe as they pass,
Do you ever hear, O little green flame,
My loved one calling, whispering my name?
You hear the grey feet of the wind stir in the shimmering corn,
You hear, low down in the grass,
The Singing Sidhe as they pass,
Do you ever hear, O little green flame,
My loved one calling, whispering my name?
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Fluffy, A Cat - R. C. Lehmann
So now your tale of years is done,
Old Fluff, my friend, and you have won,
Beyond our land of mist and rain,
Your way to the Elysian plain,
Where through the shining hours of heat
A cat may bask and lap and eat;
Where goldfish glitter in the streams,
And mice refresh your waking dreams,
And all, in fact, is planned—and that’s
Its great delight—to please the cats.
Old Fluff, my friend, and you have won,
Beyond our land of mist and rain,
Your way to the Elysian plain,
Where through the shining hours of heat
A cat may bask and lap and eat;
Where goldfish glitter in the streams,
And mice refresh your waking dreams,
And all, in fact, is planned—and that’s
Its great delight—to please the cats.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Monday, 10 October 2011
Thanks - Henrik Johan Ibsen
Her griefs were the hours
When my struggle was sore,--
Her joys were the powers
That the climber upbore.
When my struggle was sore,--
Her joys were the powers
That the climber upbore.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Friday, 7 October 2011
The personal, grown-up song of Ynurti Yantune - Lyubov Nenyang
Never in my life have I taken anything
Without asking
Nor have I stolen the tiniest little thing
From anybody
Without asking
Nor have I stolen the tiniest little thing
From anybody
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Bridal Eve - E. Nesbit
Good-night, my Heart, my Heart, good-night—
Oh, good and dear and fair,
With lips of life and eyes of light
And roses in your hair.
Oh, good and dear and fair,
With lips of life and eyes of light
And roses in your hair.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
As Long As We Are Not Alone - Israel Emiot
As long as we are not alone,
as long as we have a partner.
Perhaps a stone also hears,
we shall rejoice,
as long as we have a partner.
Perhaps a stone also hears,
we shall rejoice,
Monday, 3 October 2011
Sunday, 2 October 2011
A Word To The 'Elect' - Anne Brontë
You may rejoice to think YOURSELVES secure;
You may be grateful for the gift divine--
That grace unsought, which made your black hearts pure,
And fits your earth-born souls in Heaven to shine.
You may be grateful for the gift divine--
That grace unsought, which made your black hearts pure,
And fits your earth-born souls in Heaven to shine.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Brer Rabbit, You’s De Cutes’ Of ’Em All - James Weldon Johnson
Once der was a meetin’ in de wilderness,
All de critters of creation dey was dar;
Brer Rabbit, Brer ‘Possum, Brer Wolf, Brer Fox,
King Lion, Mister Terrapin, Mister B’ar.
De question fu’ discussion was, “Who is de bigges’ man?”
Dey ‘pinted ole Jedge Owl to decide;
He polished up his spectacles an’ put ’em on his nose,
An’ to the question slowly he replied:
All de critters of creation dey was dar;
Brer Rabbit, Brer ‘Possum, Brer Wolf, Brer Fox,
King Lion, Mister Terrapin, Mister B’ar.
De question fu’ discussion was, “Who is de bigges’ man?”
Dey ‘pinted ole Jedge Owl to decide;
He polished up his spectacles an’ put ’em on his nose,
An’ to the question slowly he replied:
Friday, 30 September 2011
Revelation - Edmund Gosse
Into the silver night
She brought with her pale hand
The topaz lanthorn-light,
And darted splendour o’er the land;
Around her in a band,
Ringstraked and pied, the great soft moths came flying,
And flapping with their mad wings, fann’d
The flickering flame, ascending, falling, dying.
She brought with her pale hand
The topaz lanthorn-light,
And darted splendour o’er the land;
Around her in a band,
Ringstraked and pied, the great soft moths came flying,
And flapping with their mad wings, fann’d
The flickering flame, ascending, falling, dying.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Sonnet 22 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
When our two souls stand up erect and strong,
Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher,
Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher,
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
The Vanity of This World - Andreas Gryphius
Look anywhere you will, the Earth is empty show.
What someone builds today, another soon tears down;
Where now a city stands will be a grassy mound,
A place that only shepherds grazing their flocks will know.
What someone builds today, another soon tears down;
Where now a city stands will be a grassy mound,
A place that only shepherds grazing their flocks will know.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
Ossian Sang - Domhnull mac Fhionnlaidh
Sweet is the voice in the land of gold,
And sweeter the music of birds that soar,
When the cry of the heron is heard on the wold,
And the waves break softly on Bundatrore.
And sweeter the music of birds that soar,
When the cry of the heron is heard on the wold,
And the waves break softly on Bundatrore.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Christ in creation - Joseph Mary Plunkett
I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Korosta Katzina Song - Anonymous (Hopi Indian)
Yellow butterflies,
Over the blossoming virgin corn,
With pollen-painted faces
Chase one another in brilliant throng.
Over the blossoming virgin corn,
With pollen-painted faces
Chase one another in brilliant throng.
Friday, 23 September 2011
The Heart of Auss - John M Wenitong
I've seen the Rock at the break of day
And it seems so right for a place to stay
A place in Law to live love and pass away
For the people of my Dreaming
And it seems so right for a place to stay
A place in Law to live love and pass away
For the people of my Dreaming
Thursday, 22 September 2011
To Rosemounde - Geoffrey Chaucer
Ma dame, ye ben of al beaute shryne
As fer as cercled is the mapamonde;
For as the cristall glorious ye shyne,
And lyke ruby ben your chekys rounde.
Therwyth ye ben so mery and so iocunde
That at a reuell whan that I se you dance,
It is an oynement vnto my wounde,
Thoght ye to me ne do no daliance.
As fer as cercled is the mapamonde;
For as the cristall glorious ye shyne,
And lyke ruby ben your chekys rounde.
Therwyth ye ben so mery and so iocunde
That at a reuell whan that I se you dance,
It is an oynement vnto my wounde,
Thoght ye to me ne do no daliance.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Fire runs through my body - Anonymous
Fire runs through my body with the pain of loving you,
pain runs through my body with the fires of my love for you.
pain runs through my body with the fires of my love for you.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
About My Poetry - Nazim Hikmet
I have no silver-saddled horse to ride,
no inheritance to live on,
neither riches no real-estate —
a pot of honey is all I own.
A pot of honey
red as fire!
no inheritance to live on,
neither riches no real-estate —
a pot of honey is all I own.
A pot of honey
red as fire!
Monday, 19 September 2011
Sonnet 101 [Ways apt and new to sing of love I'd find] - Petrarch
Ways apt and new to sing of love I'd find,
Forcing from her hard heart full many a sigh,
Forcing from her hard heart full many a sigh,
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Saturday, 17 September 2011
The Human Seasons - John Keats
Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
Friday, 16 September 2011
Beyond the Years - Paul Laurence Dunbar
I
Beyond the years the answer lies,
Beyond where brood the grieving skies
And Night drops tears.
Where Faith rod-chastened smiles to rise
And doff its fears,
And carping Sorrow pines and dies—
Beyond the years.
Beyond the years the answer lies,
Beyond where brood the grieving skies
And Night drops tears.
Where Faith rod-chastened smiles to rise
And doff its fears,
And carping Sorrow pines and dies—
Beyond the years.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
I Am Much Too Alone in This World, Yet Not Alone - Rainer Maria Rilke
I am much too alone in this world, yet not alone
enough
to truly consecrate the hour.
enough
to truly consecrate the hour.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Kubla Khan - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
A stately pleasure dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
The Elephant is Slow to Mate - D. H. Lawrence
The elephant, the huge old beast,
is slow to mate;
he finds a female, they show no haste
they wait
is slow to mate;
he finds a female, they show no haste
they wait
Monday, 12 September 2011
A Dream - Edgar Allan Poe
In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.
I have dreamed of joy departed
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
The hand that signed the paper - Dylan Thomas
The hand that signed the paper felled a city;
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,
Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,
Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Friday, 9 September 2011
My lute awake - Sir Thomas Wyatt
My lute awake, perform the last
Labour, that thou and I shall waste,
And end that I have now begun:
And when this song is sung and past,
My lute! be still, for I have done.
Labour, that thou and I shall waste,
And end that I have now begun:
And when this song is sung and past,
My lute! be still, for I have done.
Thursday, 8 September 2011
To an Old Lady - William Empson
Ripeness is all; her in her cooling planet
Revere; do not presume to think her wasted.
Project her no projectile, plan nor man it;
Gods cool in turn, by the sun long outlasted.
Revere; do not presume to think her wasted.
Project her no projectile, plan nor man it;
Gods cool in turn, by the sun long outlasted.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Song - Richard Watson Dixon
The feathers of the willow
Are half of them grown yellow
Above the swelling stream;
And ragged are the bushes,
And rusty now the rushes,
And wild the clouded gleam.
Are half of them grown yellow
Above the swelling stream;
And ragged are the bushes,
And rusty now the rushes,
And wild the clouded gleam.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Love in a Life - Robert Browning
Room after room,
I hunt the house through
We inhabit together.
Heart, fear nothing, for, heart, thou shalt find her,
Next time, herself!—not the trouble behind her
Left in the curtain, the couch's perfume!
As she brushed it, the cornice-wreath blossomed anew,—
Yon looking-glass gleamed at the wave of her feather.
I hunt the house through
We inhabit together.
Heart, fear nothing, for, heart, thou shalt find her,
Next time, herself!—not the trouble behind her
Left in the curtain, the couch's perfume!
As she brushed it, the cornice-wreath blossomed anew,—
Yon looking-glass gleamed at the wave of her feather.
Monday, 5 September 2011
Thanks - W. S. Merwin
Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water thanking it
smiling by the windows looking out
in our directions
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water thanking it
smiling by the windows looking out
in our directions
Saturday, 3 September 2011
That Sure is My Little Dog - Eleanor Lerman
Yes, indeed, that is my house that I am carrying around
on my back like a bullet-proof shell and yes, that sure is
my little dog walking a hard road in hard boots.
on my back like a bullet-proof shell and yes, that sure is
my little dog walking a hard road in hard boots.
Friday, 2 September 2011
A Poem For The End Of The Century - Czesław Miłosz
When everything was fine
And the notion of sin had vanished
And the earth was ready
In universal peace
To consume and rejoice
Without creeds and utopias,
And the notion of sin had vanished
And the earth was ready
In universal peace
To consume and rejoice
Without creeds and utopias,
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Believing in Iron - Yusef Komunyakaa
The hills my brothers & I created
Never balanced, & it took years
To discover how the world worked.
Never balanced, & it took years
To discover how the world worked.
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
The Gladness of Nature - William Cullen Bryant
Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?
When our mother Nature laughs around;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Benediction - Sister Ruth Fox
May God bless us with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that we may live from deep within our hearts.
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that we may live from deep within our hearts.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
The Harvest Bow - Seamus Heaney
As you plaited the harvest bow
You implicated the mellowed silence in you
In wheat that does not rust
But brightens as it tightens twist by twist
Into a knowable corona,
A throwaway love-knot of straw.
You implicated the mellowed silence in you
In wheat that does not rust
But brightens as it tightens twist by twist
Into a knowable corona,
A throwaway love-knot of straw.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Untitled [This is what was bequeathed us] - Gregory Orr
This is what was bequeathed us:
This earth the beloved left
And, leaving,
Left to us.
This earth the beloved left
And, leaving,
Left to us.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
The Changing Light - Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The changing light
at San Francisco
is none of your East Coast light
at San Francisco
is none of your East Coast light
Monday, 22 August 2011
Sunday, 21 August 2011
They had it coming - Steve Turner
The South East Asians,
they were made to cry,
Look at their eyes all
narrowed up and ready to bawl.
they were made to cry,
Look at their eyes all
narrowed up and ready to bawl.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Friday, 19 August 2011
Jabberwocky - Lewis Carroll
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Ballad - Sonia Sanchez
forgive me if i laugh
you are so sure of love
you are so young
and i too old to learn of love.
you are so sure of love
you are so young
and i too old to learn of love.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
A Blessing - James Wright
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
Monday, 15 August 2011
Mother Teresa - Sydney Carter
No revolution will come in time
to alter this man's life
except the one
surprise of being loved.
to alter this man's life
except the one
surprise of being loved.
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Friday, 12 August 2011
Father's Song - Gregory Orr
Yesterday, against admonishment,
my daughter balanced on the couch back,
fell and cut her mouth.
my daughter balanced on the couch back,
fell and cut her mouth.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Gospel - Philip Levine
The new grass rising in the hills,
the cows loitering in the morning chill,
a dozen or more old browns hidden
in the shadows of the cottonwoods
beside the streambed. I go higher
the cows loitering in the morning chill,
a dozen or more old browns hidden
in the shadows of the cottonwoods
beside the streambed. I go higher
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
My Father's Love Letters - Yusef Komunyakaa
On Fridays he'd open a can of Jax
After coming home from the mill,
After coming home from the mill,
Monday, 8 August 2011
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Three rusty nails - Roger McGough
Mother, there's a strange man
Waiting at the door
With a familiar sort of face
You feel you've seen before.
Waiting at the door
With a familiar sort of face
You feel you've seen before.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Friday, 5 August 2011
Dream Variations - Langston Hughes
To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me--
That is my dream!
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me--
That is my dream!
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Home-Thoughts, From Abroad - Robert Browning
Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England--now!
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England--now!
Monday, 1 August 2011
As Far As My Eye Can See In My Body’s Senses - Paul Éluard
All the trees all their branches all of their leaves
The grass at the foot of the rocks and the houses en masse
The grass at the foot of the rocks and the houses en masse
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Wild Yeasts - Annie Finch
Rumbling a way up my dough's heavy throat to its head,
seeping the trailed, airborne daughters down into the core,
bubbles go rioting through my long-kneaded new bread;
softly, now, breath of the wildest yeast starts to roar.
seeping the trailed, airborne daughters down into the core,
bubbles go rioting through my long-kneaded new bread;
softly, now, breath of the wildest yeast starts to roar.
Friday, 29 July 2011
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Mary's Lamb - Sarah Josepha Hale
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
And every where that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go;
He followed her to school one day—
That was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school.
Its fleece was white as snow,
And every where that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go;
He followed her to school one day—
That was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school.
Monday, 25 July 2011
Niggerlips - MartÃn Espada
Niggerlips was the high school name
for me.
So called by Douglas
the car mechanic, with green tattoos
on each forearm,
and the choir of round pink faces
that grinned deliciously
from the back row of classrooms,
droned over by teachers
checking attendance too slowly.
for me.
So called by Douglas
the car mechanic, with green tattoos
on each forearm,
and the choir of round pink faces
that grinned deliciously
from the back row of classrooms,
droned over by teachers
checking attendance too slowly.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Saturday, 23 July 2011
somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond - ee cummings
somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near
Friday, 22 July 2011
A Birthday - Christina Rossetti
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these,
Because my love is come to me.
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these,
Because my love is come to me.
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Wind at Tindari - Salvatore Quasimodo
Tindari, I know you
mild between broad hills, overhanging the waters
of the god’s sweet islands.
Today, you confront me
and break into my heart.
mild between broad hills, overhanging the waters
of the god’s sweet islands.
Today, you confront me
and break into my heart.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Sunday Visit - Christy Brown
We finally found him
curled up in the chair like a many-wrinkled shell
staring blindly out at nothing
among a gathering of imbecilic fossils
his one good eye fastening fiercely onto life
the hair still sturdy though silver under the old cloth cap.
curled up in the chair like a many-wrinkled shell
staring blindly out at nothing
among a gathering of imbecilic fossils
his one good eye fastening fiercely onto life
the hair still sturdy though silver under the old cloth cap.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Majung Village - Ko Un
Over the steep, panting hills where
I rest my heart.
I like the simple homeliness
of the bitch and her puppies.
For how many centuries have
such homely sights been dear to us?
The stern old nettle tree standing by the village gate
gathers sweeping winds.
I rest my heart.
I like the simple homeliness
of the bitch and her puppies.
For how many centuries have
such homely sights been dear to us?
The stern old nettle tree standing by the village gate
gathers sweeping winds.
Monday, 18 July 2011
My Aunts - Adam Zagajewski
Always caught up in what they called
the practical side of life
(theory was for Plato),
up to their elbows in furniture, in bedding,
in cupboards and kitchen gardens,
they never neglected the lavender sachets
that turned a linen closet to a meadow.
the practical side of life
(theory was for Plato),
up to their elbows in furniture, in bedding,
in cupboards and kitchen gardens,
they never neglected the lavender sachets
that turned a linen closet to a meadow.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
A Lesson for This Sunday - Derek Walcott
The growing idleness of summer grass
With its frail kites of furious butterflies
Requests the lemonade of simple praise
In scansion gentler than my hammock swings
And rituals no more upsetting than a
Black maid shaking linen as she sings
The plain notes of some Protestant hosanna—
Since I lie idling from the thought in things—
With its frail kites of furious butterflies
Requests the lemonade of simple praise
In scansion gentler than my hammock swings
And rituals no more upsetting than a
Black maid shaking linen as she sings
The plain notes of some Protestant hosanna—
Since I lie idling from the thought in things—
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Evening Concert, Sainte-Chapelle - John Updike
The celebrated windows flamed with light
directly pouring north across the Seine;
directly pouring north across the Seine;
Monday, 11 July 2011
My Father's Hat - Mark Irwin
Sunday mornings I would reach
high into his dark closet while standing
on a chair and tiptoeing reach
higher, touching, sometimes fumbling
high into his dark closet while standing
on a chair and tiptoeing reach
higher, touching, sometimes fumbling
Sunday, 10 July 2011
When Malindy Sings - Paul Laurence Dunbar
G'way an' quit dat noise, Miss Lucy--
Put dat music book away;
What's de use to keep on tryin'?
Ef you practise twell you're gray,
You cain't sta't no notes a-flyin'
Lak de ones dat rants and rings
F'om de kitchen to de big woods
When Malindy sings.
Put dat music book away;
What's de use to keep on tryin'?
Ef you practise twell you're gray,
You cain't sta't no notes a-flyin'
Lak de ones dat rants and rings
F'om de kitchen to de big woods
When Malindy sings.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Friday, 8 July 2011
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
How Doth the Little Busy Bee - Isaac Watts
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
Monday, 4 July 2011
Shanti Mantra - Ravi Shankar
Lead me from the unreal to the real
Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from death to immortality
Aum peace, peace and perfect peace
Ravi Shankar (1920 - 2012) India
Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from death to immortality
Aum peace, peace and perfect peace
Ravi Shankar (1920 - 2012) India
Sunday, 3 July 2011
The Mountain And The Lake - Robert Service
I know a mountain thrilling to the stars,
Peerless and pure, and pinnacled with snow;
Glimpsing the golden dawn o'er coral bars,
Flaunting the vanisht sunset's garnet glow;
Proudly patrician, passionless, serene;
Soaring in silvered steeps where cloud-surfs break;
Virgin and vestal -- Oh, a very Queen!
And at her feet there dreams a quiet lake.
Peerless and pure, and pinnacled with snow;
Glimpsing the golden dawn o'er coral bars,
Flaunting the vanisht sunset's garnet glow;
Proudly patrician, passionless, serene;
Soaring in silvered steeps where cloud-surfs break;
Virgin and vestal -- Oh, a very Queen!
And at her feet there dreams a quiet lake.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Monday, 20 June 2011
Jumbo Jet - Spike Milligan
I saw a little elephant standing in my garden,
I said 'You don't belong in here', he said 'I beg you pardon?',
I said 'This place is England, what are you doing here?',
He said 'Ah, then I must be lost' and then 'Oh dear, oh dear'.
I said 'You don't belong in here', he said 'I beg you pardon?',
I said 'This place is England, what are you doing here?',
He said 'Ah, then I must be lost' and then 'Oh dear, oh dear'.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Vespers - AA Milne
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Friday, 17 June 2011
For A Child Expected - Anne Ridler
Lovers whose lifted hands are candles in winter,
Whose gentle ways like streams in the easy summer,
Lying together
For secret setting of a child, love what they do,
Thinking they make that candle immortal, those streams
forever flow,
And yet do better than they know.
Whose gentle ways like streams in the easy summer,
Lying together
For secret setting of a child, love what they do,
Thinking they make that candle immortal, those streams
forever flow,
And yet do better than they know.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
I Remember, I Remember - Thomas Hood
I remember, I remember
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn;
He never came a wink too soon
Nor brought too long a day;
But now, I often wish the night
Had borne my breath away.
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn;
He never came a wink too soon
Nor brought too long a day;
But now, I often wish the night
Had borne my breath away.
Monday, 13 June 2011
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Envoi - Kathleen Raine
Take of me what is not my own,
my love, my beauty, and my poem-
the pain is mine, and mine alone.
my love, my beauty, and my poem-
the pain is mine, and mine alone.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Up on the downs - John Masefield
Up on the downs the red-eyed kestrels hover,
Eyeing the grass.
The field-mouse flits like a shadow into cover
As their shadows pass.
Eyeing the grass.
The field-mouse flits like a shadow into cover
As their shadows pass.
Monday, 6 June 2011
A Week - Thomas Hardy
On Monday night I closed my door,
And thought you were not as heretofore,
And little cared if we met no more.
And thought you were not as heretofore,
And little cared if we met no more.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Love - George Herbert
LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked anything.
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lacked anything.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
A Song from the Suds - Louisa May Alcott
Queen of my tub, I merrily sing,
While the white foam raises high,
And sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring,
And fasten the clothes to dry;
Then out in the free fresh air they swing,
Under the sunny sky.
Friday, 3 June 2011
Charles GD Roberts - The Potato Harvest
A high bare field, brown from the plough, and borne
Aslant from sunset; amber wastes of sky
Washing the ridge; a clamour of crows that fly
In from the wide flats where the spent tides mourn
To yon their rocking roosts in pines wind-torn;
A line of grey snake-fence, that zigzags by
A pond, and cattle; from the homestead nigh
The long deep summonings of the supper horn.
Aslant from sunset; amber wastes of sky
Washing the ridge; a clamour of crows that fly
In from the wide flats where the spent tides mourn
To yon their rocking roosts in pines wind-torn;
A line of grey snake-fence, that zigzags by
A pond, and cattle; from the homestead nigh
The long deep summonings of the supper horn.
Thursday, 2 June 2011
A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky - Lewis Carroll
A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July --
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July --
With people, so with trees - Mervyn Peake
With people, so with trees: where there are groups
Of either, men or trees, some will remain
Aloof while others cluster where one stoops
To breathe some dusky secret. Some complain
Of either, men or trees, some will remain
Aloof while others cluster where one stoops
To breathe some dusky secret. Some complain
They tell me to be... - Thomas Robert Hamilton-Bruce
They tell me to be a star, shining brightly for everyone to see.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
The Dot - Moiso Mlingi
I have a tiny dot
with a big name in me
the HIV dot
It scares my neighbour
It stresses the young and old
I neither love nor hate it.
with a big name in me
the HIV dot
It scares my neighbour
It stresses the young and old
I neither love nor hate it.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Lines On The Loss Of The "Titanic" - Thomas Hardy
In a solitude of the sea
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
Deep from human vanity,
And the Pride of Life that planned her, stilly couches she.
Monday, 30 May 2011
The Bluebell - Anne Brontë
A fine and subtle spirit dwells
In every little flower,
Each one its own sweet feeling breathes
With more or less of power.
In every little flower,
Each one its own sweet feeling breathes
With more or less of power.
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Fire's Reflection - Rainer Maria Rilke
Perhaps it's no more than the fire's reflection
on some piece of gleaming furniture
that the child remembers so much later
like a revelation.
on some piece of gleaming furniture
that the child remembers so much later
like a revelation.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Cargoes - John Masefield
Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
maggie and milly and molly and may - ee cummings
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)
went down to the beach (to play one day)
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
On an Invitation to the United States - Thomas Hardy
My ardours for emprize nigh lost
Since Life has bared its bones to me,
I shrink to seek a modern coast
Whose riper times have yet to be;
Where the new regions claim them free
From that long drip of human tears
Which peoples old in tragedy
Have left upon the centuried years.
Since Life has bared its bones to me,
I shrink to seek a modern coast
Whose riper times have yet to be;
Where the new regions claim them free
From that long drip of human tears
Which peoples old in tragedy
Have left upon the centuried years.
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Monday, 23 May 2011
Rescued - Theresa Ann Moore
Clump of exploring brown fur
Exploring with a nervous grip
Hesitating… fearfully immobile
Unsure… beginning to slip
Exploring with a nervous grip
Hesitating… fearfully immobile
Unsure… beginning to slip
Sunday, 22 May 2011
A Divine Rapture - Francis Quarles
E'en like two little bank-dividing brooks,
That wash the pebbles with their wanton streams,
And having ranged and search'd a thousand nooks,
Meet both at length in silver-breasted Thames,
Where in a greater current they conjoin:
So I my Best-beloved's am; so He is mine.
That wash the pebbles with their wanton streams,
And having ranged and search'd a thousand nooks,
Meet both at length in silver-breasted Thames,
Where in a greater current they conjoin:
So I my Best-beloved's am; so He is mine.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
The Song Of The Sword - Cicely Fox Smith
This is the Song of the Sword,
A proud and a ringing song,
The song of the tempered blade
That has lain in the sheath too long.
'It's oh for the strong tight hand,
and the hiss of the wheeling brand,
to make honour a power in the land,'
Saith the sword.
A proud and a ringing song,
The song of the tempered blade
That has lain in the sheath too long.
'It's oh for the strong tight hand,
and the hiss of the wheeling brand,
to make honour a power in the land,'
Saith the sword.
Friday, 20 May 2011
A Parody - Charles Lamb
Lazy-bones, lazy-bones, wake up and peep;
The Cat's in the cupboard, your Mother's asleep.
The Cat's in the cupboard, your Mother's asleep.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
To a Young Lady, on Her Birthday - Samuel Johnson
This tributary verse receive, my fair,
Warm with an ardent lover's fondest prayer,
May this returning day for ever find
Thy form more lovely, more adorn'd thy mind;
All pains, all cares, may favouring heaven remove,
All but the sweet solicitudes of love!
Warm with an ardent lover's fondest prayer,
May this returning day for ever find
Thy form more lovely, more adorn'd thy mind;
All pains, all cares, may favouring heaven remove,
All but the sweet solicitudes of love!
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
The Truth Will Set You Free - Francis Duggan
From lying your soul is in spiritual poverty
But the truth though hard to say will surely set you free
But the truth though hard to say will surely set you free
Monday, 16 May 2011
The King's Daughter - Algernon Charles Swinburne
We were ten maidens in the green corn,
Small red leaves in the mill-water:
Fairer maidens never were born,
Apples of gold for the king's daughter.
Small red leaves in the mill-water:
Fairer maidens never were born,
Apples of gold for the king's daughter.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Friday, 13 May 2011
Save Me From Madness - Aleksandr Pushkin
Save me from madness, God, I beg.
No, I prefer the beggar's bag,
Prefer to starve and toil.
And not as if I praise my head,
And not as if I were not glad
To part with mind at all.
No, I prefer the beggar's bag,
Prefer to starve and toil.
And not as if I praise my head,
And not as if I were not glad
To part with mind at all.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Stone Is Not Stone - Carson McCullers
There was a time when stone was stone
And a face on the street was a finished face.
Between the Thing, myself and God alone
There was an instant symmetry.
Since you have altered all my world this trinity is twisted:
And a face on the street was a finished face.
Between the Thing, myself and God alone
There was an instant symmetry.
Since you have altered all my world this trinity is twisted:
Monday, 9 May 2011
Job Interview - William Matthews
Think you, if Laura had been Petrarch's wife
He would have written sonnets all his life?
DON JUAN, III, 63-4
He would have written sonnets all his life?
DON JUAN, III, 63-4
Sunday, 8 May 2011
The Emmaus Road - Edward A. Morris
Some poor stranger strolled beside them
On their long and lonely walk.
Kind and wise, He gently plied them,
Why such sadness in their talk?
How their hearts within were burning
When His wondrous Word He taught!
Precious lessons they were learning,
Though they recognized Him not.
On their long and lonely walk.
Kind and wise, He gently plied them,
Why such sadness in their talk?
How their hearts within were burning
When His wondrous Word He taught!
Precious lessons they were learning,
Though they recognized Him not.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Friday, 6 May 2011
An Exam - Gita Ashok
Filling in the blanks;
choosing the right alternative;
deciding whether true or false;
defining and justifying;
comparing and contrasting;
coding, compiling and debugging;
estimating and proving;
integrating and differentiating;
plotting and interpreting,
illustrating and debating.
choosing the right alternative;
deciding whether true or false;
defining and justifying;
comparing and contrasting;
coding, compiling and debugging;
estimating and proving;
integrating and differentiating;
plotting and interpreting,
illustrating and debating.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Another Ordinary Day - Bullion Grey
Just an ordinary man with an ordinary wife,
going through ordinary days, living an ordinary life.
He has his ordinary job, receives his ordinary pay,
has his ordinary feelings every ordinary day.
going through ordinary days, living an ordinary life.
He has his ordinary job, receives his ordinary pay,
has his ordinary feelings every ordinary day.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon - JRR Tolkien
There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
To A Mouse - Robert Burns
Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
Monday, 2 May 2011
In Tintagel Graveyard - Brian Patten
Who brought flowers to this grave?
I, said the wren.
I brought them as seeds and then
Watched them grow.
I, said the wren.
I brought them as seeds and then
Watched them grow.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
The Unicorn - Rainer Maria Rilke
The saintly hermit, midway through his prayers
stopped suddenly, and raised his eyes to witness
the unbelievable: for there before him stood
the legendary creature, startling white, that
had approached, soundlessly, pleading with his eyes.
stopped suddenly, and raised his eyes to witness
the unbelievable: for there before him stood
the legendary creature, startling white, that
had approached, soundlessly, pleading with his eyes.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
Buckingham Palace - AA Milne
They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace -
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
"A soldier's life is terrible hard,"
Says Alice.
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
"A soldier's life is terrible hard,"
Says Alice.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
On Wenlock Edge - A.E. Housman
On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble;
His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;
The gale, it plies the saplings double,
And thick on Severn snow the leaves.
His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;
The gale, it plies the saplings double,
And thick on Severn snow the leaves.
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
April - Hilaire Belloc
The stranger warmth of the young sun obeying,
Look! little beads of green begin to grow,
And hidden flowers have dated their tops to show
Where late such droughty dusts were rudely playing.
It's not the month, but all the world's a-maying!
Come then with me, I'll take you, for I know
Where the first hedgethorns and white windflowers blow:
We two alone,, that goes without the saying.
Look! little beads of green begin to grow,
And hidden flowers have dated their tops to show
Where late such droughty dusts were rudely playing.
It's not the month, but all the world's a-maying!
Come then with me, I'll take you, for I know
Where the first hedgethorns and white windflowers blow:
We two alone,, that goes without the saying.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Poem to Curry - William Makepeace Thackeray
Three pounds of veal my darling girl prepares,
And chops it nicely into little squares;
Five onions next prures the little minx
(The biggest are the best, her Samiwel thinks),
And Epping butter nearly half a pound,
And stews them in a pan until they’re brown’d.
And chops it nicely into little squares;
Five onions next prures the little minx
(The biggest are the best, her Samiwel thinks),
And Epping butter nearly half a pound,
And stews them in a pan until they’re brown’d.
Monday, 25 April 2011
Sailing For Flanders - John Masefield
To need any more the skies or man to importune
For us departing to-day with spirits at peace,
Now that the inner warfares, that tire men, cease
For us the chosen of God's lot, the spoilt darlings of Fortune.
For us departing to-day with spirits at peace,
Now that the inner warfares, that tire men, cease
For us the chosen of God's lot, the spoilt darlings of Fortune.
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Easter wings – George Herbert
Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poor:
With thee
Oh let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
Friday, 22 April 2011
Black Stone on Top of a White Stone - Cesar Vallejo
I shall die in Paris, in a rainstorm,
On a day I already remember.
I shall die in Paris -- it does not bother me --
Doubtless on a Thursday, like today, in autumn.
On a day I already remember.
I shall die in Paris -- it does not bother me --
Doubtless on a Thursday, like today, in autumn.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Holy Thursday - William Blake
'Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,
The children walking two & two, in red & blue & green,
Grey-headed beadles walk'd before, with wands as white as snow,
Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames' waters flow.
The children walking two & two, in red & blue & green,
Grey-headed beadles walk'd before, with wands as white as snow,
Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames' waters flow.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Surprised by Joy - William Wordsworth
Surprised by joy — impatient as the Wind
I turned to share the transport
I turned to share the transport
Monday, 18 April 2011
Balade - Geoffrey Chaucer
Hyd, Absolon, thy gilte tresses clere;
Ester, ley thou thy meknesse al a-doun;
Hyd, Jonathas, al thy frendly manere;
Penalopee, and Marcia Catoun,
Mak of your wyfhod no comparisoun;
Hyde ye your beautes, Isoude and Eleyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne.
Ester, ley thou thy meknesse al a-doun;
Hyd, Jonathas, al thy frendly manere;
Penalopee, and Marcia Catoun,
Mak of your wyfhod no comparisoun;
Hyde ye your beautes, Isoude and Eleyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
The Donkey - G.K. Chesterton
When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;
Saturday, 16 April 2011
The Lady of Shalott - Alfred Lord Tennyson
On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And through the field the road run by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And through the field the road run by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.
Friday, 15 April 2011
About The Sheltered Garden Ground - Robert Louis Stevenson
About the sheltered garden ground
The trees stand strangely still.
The vale ne'er seemed so deep before,
Nor yet so high the hill.
The trees stand strangely still.
The vale ne'er seemed so deep before,
Nor yet so high the hill.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Monday, 11 April 2011
May my love become an alder tree - Yi Chongbo
May my love become an alder tree
of Kumsong in Hoeyang, and
I an arrowroot vine in
the third month or fourth:
of Kumsong in Hoeyang, and
I an arrowroot vine in
the third month or fourth:
Sunday, 10 April 2011
The Artist Lives Dangerously - Otieno Amisi
The artist lives dangerously
Cursing, blasting, blaming, weeping
The artist lives dangerously
Hits the stone with his ass
Crosses swords with the censor
Critic and state
Cursing, blasting, blaming, weeping
The artist lives dangerously
Hits the stone with his ass
Crosses swords with the censor
Critic and state
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Community - John Donne
Good we must love, and must hate ill,
For ill is ill, and good good still;
But there are things indifferent,
Which wee may neither hate, nor love,
But one, and then another prove,
As we shall find our fancy bent.
For ill is ill, and good good still;
But there are things indifferent,
Which wee may neither hate, nor love,
But one, and then another prove,
As we shall find our fancy bent.
Friday, 8 April 2011
The Pobble Who Has No Toes - Edward Lear
The Pobble who has no toes
Had once as many as we;
When they said "Some day you may lose them all;"
He replied "Fish, fiddle-de-dee!"
And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink
Lavender water tinged with pink,
For she said "The World in general knows
There's nothing so good for a Pobble's toes!"
Had once as many as we;
When they said "Some day you may lose them all;"
He replied "Fish, fiddle-de-dee!"
And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink
Lavender water tinged with pink,
For she said "The World in general knows
There's nothing so good for a Pobble's toes!"
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Beneath My Hands - Leonard Cohen
Beneath my hands
your small breasts
are the upturned bellies
of breathing fallen sparrows.
your small breasts
are the upturned bellies
of breathing fallen sparrows.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
But Not Forgotten - Dorothy Parker
I think, no matter where you stray,
That I shall go with you a way.
That I shall go with you a way.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Wind - Ted Hughes
This house has been far out at sea all night,
The woods crashing through darkness, the booming hills,
Winds stampeding the fields under the window
Floundering black astride and blinding wet
The woods crashing through darkness, the booming hills,
Winds stampeding the fields under the window
Floundering black astride and blinding wet
Monday, 4 April 2011
Heart And Mind - Edith Sitwell
SAID the Lion to the Lioness-'When you are amber dust,-
No more a raging fire like the heat of the Sun
(No liking but all lust)-
Remember still the flowering of the amber blood and bone,
The rippling of bright muscles like a sea,
Remember the rose-prickles of bright paws
Though the fire of that sun the heart and the moon-cold bone are one.'
No more a raging fire like the heat of the Sun
(No liking but all lust)-
Remember still the flowering of the amber blood and bone,
The rippling of bright muscles like a sea,
Remember the rose-prickles of bright paws
Though the fire of that sun the heart and the moon-cold bone are one.'
Sunday, 3 April 2011
(For Mother's day) Proverbs 23:22-26 - The Bible
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,
and despise not thy mother when she is old.
and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Wind on the Hill - AA Milne
No one can tell me,
Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.
Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.
Friday, 1 April 2011
The Tyger - William Blake
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Jungle danger - Bruce Levitan
The ermine softness of the leaves
Brushing against his arm.
The air, warm and moist
Like an inhaler full of balm.
Menace seems to lurk
In every shadow of apparent calm.
Brushing against his arm.
The air, warm and moist
Like an inhaler full of balm.
Menace seems to lurk
In every shadow of apparent calm.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Monday, 28 March 2011
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Home From Abroad - Laurie Lee
Far-fetched with tales of other worlds and ways,
My skin well-oiled with wines of the Levant,
I set my face into a filial smile
To greet the pale, domestic kiss of Kent.
My skin well-oiled with wines of the Levant,
I set my face into a filial smile
To greet the pale, domestic kiss of Kent.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Friday, 25 March 2011
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Sheep in Fog - Sylvia Plath
The hills step off into whiteness.
People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.
People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
If - Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Martha - Walter de la Mare
"Once...Once upon a time..."
Over and over again,
Martha would tell us her stories,
In the hazel glen.
Over and over again,
Martha would tell us her stories,
In the hazel glen.
Monday, 21 March 2011
As Kingfishers Catch Fire - Gerard Manley Hopkins
As king fishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
Sunday, 20 March 2011
The Telephone - Michel Quoist
I have just hung up;
why did he telephone?
I don’t know…
O! I get it…
I talked a lot and listened little.
why did he telephone?
I don’t know…
O! I get it…
I talked a lot and listened little.
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Morning at the window - T.S. Eliot
They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,
And along the trampled edges of the street
I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids
Sprouting despondently at area gates.
And along the trampled edges of the street
I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids
Sprouting despondently at area gates.
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Love and the Gentle Heart - Dante Alighieri
Love is but one thing with the gentle heart,
As in the saying of the sage we find.
Thus one from other cannot be apart,
More than the reason from the reasoning mind.
As in the saying of the sage we find.
Thus one from other cannot be apart,
More than the reason from the reasoning mind.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Five-Per-Cent - Robert William Service
Because I have ten thousand pounds I sit upon my stern,
And leave my living tranquilly for other folks to earn.
For in some procreative way that isn't very clear,
Ten thousand pounds will breed, they say, five hundred every year.
So as I have a healthy hate of economic strife,
I mean to stand aloof from it the balance of my life.
And yet with sympathy I see the grimy son of toil,
And heartly congratulate the tiller of the soil.
I like the miner in the mine, the sailor on the sea,
Because up to five hundred pounds they sail and mine for me.
For me their toil is taxed unto that annual extent,
According to the holy shibboleth of Five-per-Cent.
And leave my living tranquilly for other folks to earn.
For in some procreative way that isn't very clear,
Ten thousand pounds will breed, they say, five hundred every year.
So as I have a healthy hate of economic strife,
I mean to stand aloof from it the balance of my life.
And yet with sympathy I see the grimy son of toil,
And heartly congratulate the tiller of the soil.
I like the miner in the mine, the sailor on the sea,
Because up to five hundred pounds they sail and mine for me.
For me their toil is taxed unto that annual extent,
According to the holy shibboleth of Five-per-Cent.
Monday, 14 March 2011
The Lent Lily - Alfred Edward Housman
'Tis spring; come out to ramble
The hilly brakes around,
For under thorn and bramble
About the hollow ground
The primroses are found.
The hilly brakes around,
For under thorn and bramble
About the hollow ground
The primroses are found.
Sunday, 13 March 2011
A Bird Came Down - Emily Dickinson
A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
A Prayer in Spring - Robert Lee Frost
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Soil - Roger McGough
we've ignored eachother for a long time
and I'm strictly an indoor man
anytime to call would be the wrong time
I'll avoid you as long as I can
and I'm strictly an indoor man
anytime to call would be the wrong time
I'll avoid you as long as I can
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night - Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Havisham - Carol Ann Duffy
Beloved sweetheart bastard. Not a day since then
I haven’t wished him dead. Prayed for it
so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes,
ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.
I haven’t wished him dead. Prayed for it
so hard I’ve dark green pebbles for eyes,
ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
i carry your heart with me - Edward Estlin Cummings (ee cummings)
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)