I Saw His Round Mouth’s Crimson by Wilfred Owen
[I saw his round mouth’s crimson deepen as it fell], Like a Sun, in his last deep hour; Watched the magnificent recession of farewell, Clouding, half gleam, half glower, And a last splendour burn the heavens of his cheek. And in his eyes The cold stars lighting, very old and bleak, In different skies. ————— […]
I know The Music (unfinished) by Wilfred Owen
All sounds have been as music to my listening: Pacific lamentations of slow bells, The crunch of boots on blue snow rosy-glistening, Shuffle of autumn leaves; and all farewells: Bugles that sadden all the evening air, And country bells clamouring their last appeals Before [the] music of the evening prayer; Bridges, sonorous under carriage wheels. […]
Hospital Barge At Cerisy by Wilfred Owen
Budging the sluggard ripples of the Somme, A barge round old Cérisy slowly slewed. Softly her engines down the current screwed, And chuckled softly with contented hum, Till fairy tinklings struck their croonings dumb. The waters rumpling at the stern subdued; The lock-gate took her bulging amplitude; Gently from out the gurgling lock she swum. […]
Has Your Soul Sipped? by Wilfred Owen
Has your soul sipped Of the sweetness of all sweets? Has it well supped But yet hungers and sweats? I have been witness Of a strange sweetness, All fancy surpassing Past all supposing. Passing the rays Of the rubies of morning, Or the soft rise Of the moon; or the meaning Known to the rose […]
Happiness by Wilfred Owen
Ever again to breathe pure happiness, So happy that we gave away our toy? We smiled at nothings, needing no caress? Have we not laughed too often since with Joy? Have we not stolen too strange and sorrowful wrongs For her hands’ pardoning? The sun may cleanse, And time, and starlight. Life will sing great […]
Greater Love by Wilfred Owen
Red lips are not so red As the stained stones kissed by the English dead. Kindness of wooed and wooer Seems shame to their love pure. O Love, your eyes lose lure When I behold eyes blinded in my stead! Your slender attitude Trembles not exquisite like limbs knife-skewed, Rolling and rolling there Where God […]
From My Diary, July 1914 by Wilfred Owen
Leaves Murmuring by miriads in the shimmering trees. Lives Wakening with wonder in the Pyrenees. Birds Cheerily chirping in the early day. Bards Singing of summer, scything thro’ the hay. Bees Shaking the heavy dews from bloom and frond. Boys Bursting the surface of the ebony pond. Flashes Of swimmers carving thro’ the sparkling cold. […]
At A Calvary Near The Ancre by Wilfred Owen
One ever hangs where shelled roads part. In this war He too lost a limb, But His disciples hide apart; And now the Soldiers bear with Him. Near Golgotha strolls many a priest, And in their faces there is pride That they were flesh-marked by the Beast By whom the gentle Christ’s denied The scribes […]
Apologia Pro Poemate Meo by Wilfred Owen
I, too, saw God through mud — The mud that cracked on cheeks when wretches smiled. War brought more glory to their eyes than blood, And gave their laughs more glee than shakes a child. Merry it was to laugh there — Where death becomes absurd and life absurder. For power was on us as […]
Antaeus: [A Fragment] by Wilfred Owen
So neck to stubborn neck, and obstinate knee to knee, Wrestled those two; and peerless Heracles Could not prevail, nor get at any vantage… So those huge hands that, small, had snapped great snakes, Let slip the writhing of Antaeus’ wrists: Those hero’s hands that wrenched the necks of bulls, Now fumbled round the slim […]
A New Heaven (To-On Active Service) by Wilfred Owen
Seeing we never found gay fairyland (Though still we crouched by bluebells moon by moon) And missed the tide of Lethe; yet are soon For that new bridge that leaves old Styx half-spanned; Nor ever unto Mecca caravanned; Nor bugled Asgard, skilled in magic rune; Nor yearned for far Nirvana, the sweet swoon, And from […]
1914 by Wilfred Owen
War broke: and now the Winter of the world With perishing great darkness closes in. The foul tornado, centred at Berlin, Is over all the width of Europe whirled, Rending the sails of progress. Rent or furled Are all Art’s ensigns. Verse wails. Now begin Famines of thought and feeling. Love’s wine’s thin. The grain […]
The Example by William Henry Davies
The Example by William Henry Davies Here’s an example from A Butterfly; That on a rough, hard rock Happy can lie; Friendless and all alone On this unsweetened stone. Now let my bed be hard No care take I; I’ll make my joy like this Small Butterfly; Whose happy heart has power To make a […]
The Dark Hour by William Henry Davies
The Dark Hour by William Henry Davies And now, when merry winds do blow, And rain makes trees look fresh, An overpowering staleness holds This mortal flesh. Though well I love to feel the rain, And be by winds well blown — The mystery of mortal life Doth press me down. And, In this mood, […]
The Child and the Mariner by William Henry Davies
The Child and the Mariner by William Henry Davies A dear old couple my grandparents were, And kind to all dumb things; they saw in Heaven The lamb that Jesus petted when a child; Their faith was never draped by Doubt: to them Death was a rainbow in Eternity, That promised everlasting brightness soon. An […]
The Boy by William Henry Davies
The Boy by William Henry Davies Go, little boy, Fill thee with joy; For Time gives thee Unlicensed hours, To run in fields, And roll in flowers. A little boy Can life enjoy; If but to see The horses pass, When shut indoors Behind the glass. Go, little boy, Fill thee with joy; Fear not, […]
The Bird of Paradise by William Henry Davies
The Bird of Paradise by William Henry Davies Here comes Kate Summers, who, for gold, Takes any man to bed: “You knew my friend, Nell Barnes,” she said; “You knew Nell Barnes — she’s dead. “Nell Barnes was bad on all you men, Unclean, a thief as well; Yet all my life I have not […]
The Best Friend by William Henry Davies
The Best Friend by William Henry Davies Now shall I walk Or shall I ride? “Ride”, Pleasure said; “Walk”, Joy replied. Now what shall I — Stay home or roam? “Roam”, Pleasure said; And Joy — “stay home.” Now shall I dance, Or sit for dreams? “Sit,” answers Joy; “Dance,” Pleasure screams. Which of ye […]
Sweet Stay-at-Home by William Henry Davies
Sweet Stay-at-Home by William Henry Davies Sweet Stay-at-Home, sweet Well-content, Thou knowest of no strange continent; Thou hast not felt thy bosom keep A gentle motion with the deep; Thou hast not sailed in Indian seas, Where scent comes forth in every breeze. Thou hast not seen the rich grape grow For miles, as far […]
Songs of Joy by William Henry Davies
Songs of Joy by William Henry Davies Sing out, my soul, thy songs of joy; Sing as a happy bird will sing Beneath a rainbow’s lovely arch In the spring. Think not of death in thy young days; Why shouldst thou that grim tyrant fear? And fear him not when thou art old, And he […]
Seeking Beauty by William Henry Davies
Seeking Beauty by William Henry Davies Cold winds can never freeze, nor thunder sour The cup of cheer that Beauty draws for me Out of those Azure heavens and this green earth — I drink and drink, and thirst the more I see. To see the dewdrops thrill the blades of grass, Makes my whole […]
Sadness and Joy by William Henry Davies
Sadness and Joy by William Henry Davies I pray you, Sadness, leave me soon, In sweet invention thou art poor! Thy sister, Joy can make ten songs While thou art making four. One hour with thee is sweet enough; But when we find the whole day gone And no created thing is left — We […]
Rich or Poor by William Henry Davies
Rich or Poor by William Henry Davies With thy true love I have more wealth Than Charon’s piled-up bank doth hold; Where he makes kings lay down their crowns And life-long misers leave their gold. Without thy love I’ve no more wealth Than seen upon that other shore; That cold, bare bank he rows them […]
Rich Days by William Henry Davies
Rich Days by William Henry Davies Welcome to you rich Autumn days, Ere comes the cold, leaf-picking wind; When golden stocks are seen in fields, All standing arm-in-arm entwined; And gallons of sweet cider seen On trees in apples red and green. With mellow pears that cheat our teeth, Which melt that tongues may suck […]
No Master by William Henry Davies
No Master by William Henry Davies Indeed this is the sweet life! my hand Is under no proud man’s command; There is no voice to break my rest Before a bird has left its nest; There is no man to change my mood, When I go nutting in the wood; No man to pluck my […]
Nell Barnes by William Henry Davies
Nell Barnes by William Henry Davies They lived apart for three long years, Bill Barnes and Nell his wife; He took his joy from other girls, She led a wicked life. Yet ofttimes she would pass his shop, With some strange man awhile; And, looking, meet her husband’s frown With her malicious smile. Until one […]
Money by William Henry Davies
Money by William Henry Davies When I had money, money, O! I knew no joy till I went poor; For many a false man as a friend Came knocking all day at my door. Then felt I like a child that holds A trumpet that he must not blow Because a man is dead; I […]
Leisure by William Henry Davies
Leisure by William Henry Davies What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, […]
Laughing Rose by William Henry Davies
Laughing Rose by William Henry Davies If I were gusty April now, How I would blow at laughing Rose; I’d make her ribbons slip their knots, And all her hair come loose. If I were merry April now, How I would pelt her cheeks with showers; I’d make carnations, rich and warm, Of her vermillion […]
Joy and Pleasure by William Henry Davies
Joy and Pleasure by William Henry Davies Now, joy is born of parents poor, And pleasure of our richer kind; Though pleasure’s free, she cannot sing As sweet a song as joy confined. Pleasure’s a Moth, that sleeps by day And dances by false glare at night; But Joy’s a Butterfly, that loves To spread […]
William Henry Davies – William Henry Davies
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In the Country by William Henry Davies
In the Country by William Henry Davies This life is sweetest; in this wood I hear no children cry for food; I see no woman, white with care; No man, with muscled wasting here. No doubt it is a selfish thing To fly from human suffering; No doubt he is a selfish man, Who shuns […]
In May by William Henry Davies
In May by William Henry Davies Yes, I will spend the livelong day With Nature in this month of May; And sit beneath the trees, and share My bread with birds whose homes are there; While cows lie down to eat, and sheep Stand to their necks in grass so deep; While birds do sing […]
Days Too Short by William Henry Davies
Days Too Short by William Henry Davies When primroses are out in Spring, And small, blue violets come between; When merry birds sing on boughs green, And rills, as soon as born, must sing; When butterflies will make side-leaps, As though escaped from Nature’s hand Ere perfect quite; and bees will stand Upon their heads […]
Come, Let Us Find by William Henry Davies
Come, Let Us Find by William Henry Davies Come, let us find a cottage, love, That’s green for half a mile around; To laugh at every grumbling bee, Whose sweetest blossom’s not yet found. Where many a bird shall sing for you, And in your garden build its nest: They’ll sing for you as though […]
Charms by William Henry Davies
Charms by William Henry Davies She walks as lightly as the fly Skates on the water in July. To hear her moving petticoat For me is music’s highest note. Stones are not heard, when her feet pass, No more than tumps of moss or grass. When she sits still, she’s like the flower To be […]
April’s Charms by William Henry Davies
April’s Charms by William Henry Davies When April scatters charms of primrose gold Among the copper leaves in thickets old, And singing skylarks from the meadows rise, To twinkle like black stars in sunny skies; When I can hear the small woodpecker ring Time on a tree for all the birds that sing; And hear […]
All in June by William Henry Davies
All in June by William Henry Davies A week ago I had a fire To warm my feet, my hands and face; Cold winds, that never make a friend, Crept in and out of every place. Today the fields are rich in grass, And buttercups in thousands grow; I’ll show the world where I have […]
Ale by William Henry Davies
Ale by William Henry Davies Now do I hear thee weep and groan, Who hath a comrade sunk at sea? Then quaff thee of my good old ale, And it will raise him up for thee; Thoul’t think as little of him then As when he moved with living men. If thou hast hopes to […]
A Plain Life by William Henry Davies
A Plain Life by William Henry Davies No idle gold — since this fine sun, my friend, Is no mean miser, but doth freely spend. No prescious stones — since these green mornings show, Without a charge, their pearls where’er I go. No lifeless books — since birds with their sweet tongues Will read aloud […]