When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,Before high-piled books, in charact'ry, Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face, Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,And think that I may never live to trace Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;And … Continue reading Poem – “When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be”
Poetry
Friday Flotsam: Pink Eye, Unity, and a Limerick
1. On Tuesday night I woke up with something stuck in my eye, something that seemingly refused to be extricated. It got so bad that I called off work to go to the emergency room. There I learned that whatever it was was gone, but had left a large scratch on my cornea which felt … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Pink Eye, Unity, and a Limerick
Poem – “Sing a Song of Sixpence”
Sing a song of sixpence,A bag full of rye;Four and twenty blackbirdsBaked in a pie; When the pie was open'd,The birds began to sing;Was not that a dainty dish,To set before the king? The king was in his counting-houseCounting out his money;The queen was in the parlourEating bread and honey; The maid was in the … Continue reading Poem – “Sing a Song of Sixpence”
Poem – “To Imagination”
When weary with the long day's care,And earthly change from pain to pain,And lost, and ready to despair,Thy kind voice calls me back againO my true friend, I am not loneWhile thou canst speak with such a tone! So hopeless is the world without,The world within I doubly prize;Thy world where guile and hate and … Continue reading Poem – “To Imagination”
Poem – “Sir Galahad”
i. My good blade carves the casques of men,My tough lance thrusteth sure,My strength is as the strength of ten,Because my heart is pure.The shattering trumpet shrilleth high,The hard brands shiver on the steel,The splinter'd spear-shafts crack and fly,The horse and rider reel:They reel, they roll in clanging lists,And when the tide of combat stands,Perfume … Continue reading Poem – “Sir Galahad”
Poem – “The White Man’s Burden”
1 Take up the White Man's burden—Send forth the best ye breed—Go bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives' need;To wait in heavy harnessOn fluttered folk and wild—Your new-caught sullen peoples,Half devil and half child. 2 Take up the White Man's burden—In patience to abideTo veil the threat of terrorAnd check the show of … Continue reading Poem – “The White Man’s Burden”
Poetry – “She Was a Phantom of Delight”
She was a Phantom of delightWhen first she gleamed upon my sight;A lovely Apparition, sentTo be a moment's ornament;Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;Like Twilight's, too, her dusky hair;But all things else about her drawnFrom May-time and the cheerful Dawn;A dancing Shape, an Image gay,To haunt, to startle, and way-lay. I saw her upon … Continue reading Poetry – “She Was a Phantom of Delight”
Poetry – “Casey at the Bat”
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;the score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,a sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The restclung to … Continue reading Poetry – “Casey at the Bat”
Poem – “The Rainy Day”
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;It rains, and the wind is never weary;The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,But at every gust the dead leaves fall,And the day is dark and dreary. My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;It rains, and the wind is never weary;My thoughts still cling to the … Continue reading Poem – “The Rainy Day”
Poem – “The Naming of Cats”
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,It isn't just one of your holiday games;You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatterWhen I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,Such as Victor or Jonathan, … Continue reading Poem – “The Naming of Cats”
Serpent's Den 