His spots are the joy of the Leopard: his horns are the Buffalo's pride.Be clean, for the strength of the hunter is known by the gloss of his hide.If ye find that the bullock can toss you, or the heavy-browed Sambhur can gore;Ye need not stop work to inform us: we knew it ten seasons … Continue reading Poem – “Kaa’s Hunting”
Poems
Poem – “It Is Not Always May”
No hay pajaros en los nidos de antano.-Spanish proverb The sun is bright, - the air is clear,The darting swallows soar and sing,And from the stately elms I hearThe bluebird prophesying Spring. So blue yon winding river flows,It seems an outlet from the sky,Where, waiting till the west wind blows,The freighted clouds at anchor lie. … Continue reading Poem – “It Is Not Always May”
Poem – “A Lecture Upon the Shadow”
Stand still, and I will read to theeA lecture, Love, in love's philosophy.These three hours that we have spentIn walking here, two shadows wentAlong with us, which we ourselves produced;But, now the sun is just above our head,We do those shadows tread;And to brave clearness all things are reduced.So whilst our infant loves did grow,Disguises … Continue reading Poem – “A Lecture Upon the Shadow”
Poem – “Forms of Heroes”
Ye Forms of Heroes slumb'ring here,Beneath these tombstones cold and drear,On which the moss of age has slept,Since one fond heart has o'er you wept,Oh tell me, if a Mortal's prayer,Can ever wake your spirits, whereThey sleep the dark dread sleep of death.Tell me if now the laurel wreath,Which Glory twin'd around your head,Can wake … Continue reading Poem – “Forms of Heroes”
Poem – “Providence”
Where bay and river tranquil blend,And leafy hillsides rise,The spires of Providence ascendAgainst the ancient skies. Here centuried domes of shining goldSalute the morning’s glare,While slanting gables, odd and old,Are scatter’d here and there. And in the narrow winding waysThat climb o’er slope and crest,The magic of forgotten daysMay still be found to rest. A … Continue reading Poem – “Providence”
Poem – “To a Pet Cobra”
With breath indrawn and every nerve alert,As at the brink of some profound abyss,I love on my bare arm, capricious flirt,To feel the chilly and incisive kiss Of your lithe tongue that forks its swift caressBetween the folded slumber of your fangs,And half reveals the nacreous recessWhere death upon those dainty hinges hangs. Our lonely … Continue reading Poem – “To a Pet Cobra”
Poem – “Boots”
INFANTRY COLUMNS We're foot—slog—slog—slog—sloggin' over Africa —Foot—foot—foot—foot—sloggin' over Africa —(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again!) There's no discharge in the war! Seven—six—eleven—five—nine-an'-twenty mile to-day —Four—eleven—seventeen—thirty-two the day before —(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again!) There's no discharge in the war! Don't—don't—don't—don't—look at what's … Continue reading Poem – “Boots”
Poem – “An American to Mother England”
England! My England! Can the surging seaThat lies between us tear my heart from thee?Can distant birth and distant dwelling drainTh’ ancestral blood that warms the loyal vein?Isle of my Fathers! hear the filial songOf him whose sources but to thee belong!World-conquering Mother! by thy mighty handWas carv’d from savage wilds my native land:Thy matchless … Continue reading Poem – “An American to Mother England”
Poem – “O Sacred Head, Surrounded”
O Sacred Head, surroundedby crown of piercing thorn!O bleeding Head, so wounded,reviled and put to scorn!Our sins have marred the gloryof Thy most Holy Face,yet angel hosts adore Theeand tremble as they gaze I see Thy strength and vigorall fading in the strife,and death with cruel rigor,bereaving Thee of life;O agony and dying!O love to … Continue reading Poem – “O Sacred Head, Surrounded”
Poem – “Strictly Germ-Proof”
The Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup Were playing in the garden when the Bunny gamboled up; They looked upon the Creature with a loathing undisguised;— It wasn't Disinfected and it wasn't Sterilized. They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease;They steamed it in a vapor of a thousand-odd degrees; They froze it in a freezer … Continue reading Poem – “Strictly Germ-Proof”
Serpent's Den 