Why, why repine, my pensive friendAt pleasures slipped away?Some the stern Fates will never lend,And all refuse to stay. I see the rainbow in the sky,The dew upon the grass,I see them, and I ask not whyThey glimmer or they pass. With folded arms I linger notTo call them back; 'twere vain;In this, or in … Continue reading Poem – “Why, Why Repine?”
Poetry
Poem – “On the Lake of Brientz”
"What know we of the Blest aboveBut that they sing and that they love?"Yet, if they ever did inspireA mortal hymn, or shaped the choir,Now, where those harvest Damsels floatHomeward in their rugged Boat,(While all the ruffling winds are fled,Each slumbering on some mountain's head,)Now, surely, hath that gracious aidBeen felt, that influence is displayed.Pupils … Continue reading Poem – “On the Lake of Brientz”
Poem – “It Was All For Our Rightful King”
It was a' for our rightfu' kingWe left fair Scotland's strand;It was a' for our rightfu' kingWe e'er saw Irish land, my dear,We e'er saw Irish land. Now a' is done that men can do,And a' is done in vain:My Love and Native Land fareweel,For I maun cross the main, my dear,For I maun cross … Continue reading Poem – “It Was All For Our Rightful King”
Poetry – “The Wood”
They cut it down, and where the pitch-black aislesOf forest night had hid eternal things,They scal’d the sky with tow’rs and marble pilesTo make a city for their revellings. White and amazing to the lands aroundThat wondrous wealth of domes and turrets rose;Crystal and ivory, sublimely crown’dWith pinnacles that bore unmelting snows. And through its … Continue reading Poetry – “The Wood”
Poem – “March of the Deathless Dead”
Gather the sacred dustOf the warriors tried and true,Who bore the flag of our People's trustAnd fell in a cause, though lost still justAnd died for me and you. Gather them one and all!From the Private to the Chief,Come they from hovel or princely hall,They fell for us, and for them should fallThe tears of … Continue reading Poem – “March of the Deathless Dead”
Poetry – “Not Yet, My soul”
Not yet, my soul, these friendly fields desert,Where thou with grass, and rivers, and the breeze,And the bright face of day, thy dalliance hadst;Where to thine ear first sang the enraptured birds;Where love and thou that lasting bargain made.The ship rides trimmed, and from the eternal shoreThou hearest airy voices; but not yetDepart, my soul, … Continue reading Poetry – “Not Yet, My soul”
Saturday Flotsam
1. I seem to be missing Friday Flotsams quite a bit lately. These are confusing times. 2. My first year of teaching has officially concluded in a chaotic rush of a 'center cleaning day'. It was truly a life-changing experience, and I've learned an enormous amount even in a single year. I feel that, at … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam
Poem – “The Female of the Species”
When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride, He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside. But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail. For the female of the species is more deadly than the male. When Nag the basking cobra hears … Continue reading Poem – “The Female of the Species”
Poem – “Invictus”
Out of the night that covers meBlack as the pit from pole to pole,I thank whatever gods may beFor my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance,I have not winced nor cried aloud.Under the bludgeonings of chanceMy head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tearsLooms but the Horror of the … Continue reading Poem – “Invictus”
Poetry – “Eclogue IV”
Muses of Sicily! on nobler themesI now will sing. Not all of us admireDense woods and groves; if sylvan joys we singLet them be fit for a great Consul's ear.Now dawns the last age of Cumæan song!Once more the circling centuries beg in—The Virgin reappears and Saturn reigns:From heav'n descends a novel progeny;Now to this … Continue reading Poetry – “Eclogue IV”
Serpent's Den 