Going by Philip Larkin
There is an evening coming in Across the fields, one never seen before, That lights no lamps. Silken it seems at a distance, yet When it is drawn up over the knees and breast It brings no comfort. Where has the tree gone, that locked Earth to sky? What is under my hands, That I […]
Friday Night At The Royal Station Hotel by Philip Larkin
Light spreads darkly downwards from the high Clusters of lights over empty chairs That face each other, coloured differently. Through open doors, the dining-room declares A larger loneliness of knives and glass And silence laid like carpet. A porter reads An unsold evening paper. Hours pass, And all the salesmen have gone back to Leeds, […]
For Sidney Bechet by Philip Larkin
That note you hold, narrowing and rising, shakes Like New Orleans reflected on the water, And in all ears appropriate falsehood wakes, Building for some a legendary Quarter Of balconies, flower-baskets and quadrilles, Everyone making love and going shares– Oh, play that thing! Mute glorious Storyvilles Others may license, grouping around their chairs Sporting-house girls […]
First Sight by Philip Larkin
Lambs that learn to walk in snow When their bleating clouds the air Meet a vast unwelcome, know Nothing but a sunless glare. Newly stumbling to and fro All they find, outside the fold, Is a wretched width of cold. As they wait beside the ewe, Her fleeces wetly caked, there lies Hidden round them, […]
Far Out by Philip Larkin
Beyond the dark cartoons Are darker spaces where Small cloudy nests of stars Seem to float on air. These have no proper names: Men out alone at night Never look up at them For guidance or delight, For such evasive dust Can make so little clear: Much less is known than not, More far than […]
Faith Healing by Philip Larkin
Slowly the women file to where he stands Upright in rimless glasses, silver hair, Dark suit, white collar. Stewards tirelessly Persuade them onwards to his voice and hands, Within whose warm spring rain of loving care Each dwells some twenty seconds. Now, dear child, What’s wrong, the deep American voice demands, And, scarcely pausing, goes […]
Essential Beauty by Philip Larkin
In frames as large as rooms that face all ways And block the ends of streets with giant loaves, Screen graves with custard, cover slums with praise Of motor-oil and cuts of salmon, shine Perpetually these sharply-pictured groves Of how life should be. High above the gutter A silver knife sinks into golden butter, A […]
Dublinesque by Philip Larkin
Down stucco sidestreets, Where light is pewter And afternoon mist Brings lights on in shops Above race-guides and rosaries, A funeral passes. The hearse is ahead, But after there follows A troop of streetwalkers In wide flowered hats, Leg-of-mutton sleeves, And ankle-length dresses. There is an air of great friendliness, As if they were honouring […]
Dockery And Son by Philip Larkin
‘Dockery was junior to you, Wasn’t he?’ said the Dean. ‘His son’s here now.’ Death-suited, visitant, I nod. ‘And do You keep in touch with-‘ Or remember how Black-gowned, unbreakfasted, and still half-tight We used to stand before that desk, to give ‘Our version’ of ‘these incidents last night’? I try the door of where […]
Days by Philip Larkin
What are days for? Days are where we live. They come, they wake us Time and time over. They are to be happy in: Where can we live but days? Ah, solving that question Brings the priest and the doctor In their long coats Running over the fields. End of the poem 15 random poems […]
Cut Grass by Philip Larkin
Cut grass lies frail: Brief is the breath Mown stalks exhale. Long, long the death It dies in the white hours Of young-leafed June With chestnut flowers, With hedges snowlike strewn, White lilac bowed, Lost lanes of Queen Anne’s lace, And that high-builded cloud Moving at summer’s pace. End of the poem 15 random poems […]
Counting by Philip Larkin
Thinking in terms of one Is easily done— One room, one bed, one chair, One person there, Makes perfect sense; one set Of wishes can be met, One coffin filled. But counting up to two Is harder to do; For one must be denied Before it’s tried. End of the poem 15 random poems […]
Continuing To Live by Philip Larkin
Continuing to live — that is, repeat A habit formed to get necessaries — Is nearly always losing, or going without. It varies. This loss of interest, hair, and enterprise — Ah, if the game were poker, yes, You might discard them, draw a full house! But it’s chess. And once you have walked the […]
Church Going by Philip Larkin
Once I am sure there’s nothing going on I step inside, letting the door thud shut. Another church: matting, seats, and stone, And little books; sprawlings of flowers, cut For Sunday, brownish now; some brass and stuff Up at the holy end; the small neat organ; And a tense, musty, unignorable silence, Brewed God knows […]
Breadfruit by Philip Larkin
Boys dream of native girls who bring breadfruit, Whatever they are, As bribes to teach them how to execute Sixteen sexual positions on the sand; This makes them join (the boys) the tennis club, Jive at the Mecca, use deodorants, and On Saturdays squire ex-schoolgirls to the pub By private car. Such uncorrected visions end […]
Best Society by Philip Larkin
When I was a child, I thought, Casually, that solitude Never needed to be sought. Something everybody had, Like nakedness, it lay at hand, Not specially right or specially wrong, A plentiful and obvious thing Not at all hard to understand. Then, after twenty, it became At once more difficult to get And more desired; […]
Aubade by Philip Larkin
I work all day, and get half-drunk at night. Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare. In time the curtain-edges will grow light. Till then I see what’s really always there: Unresting death, a whole day nearer now, Making all thought impossible but how And where and when I shall myself die. Arid interrogation: […]
At Grass by Philip Larkin
The eye can hardly pick them out From the cold shade they shelter in, Till wind distresses tail and main; Then one crops grass, and moves about – The other seeming to look on – And stands anonymous again Yet fifteen years ago, perhaps Two dozen distances surficed To fable them: faint afternoons Of Cups […]
Arrival by Philip Larkin
Morning, a glass door, flashes Gold names off the new city, Whose white shelves and domes travel The slow sky all day. I land to stay here; And the windows flock open And the curtains fly out like doves And a past dries in a wind. Now let me lie down, under A wide-branched indifference, […]
Annus Mirabilis by Philip Larkin
Sexual intercourse began In nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me) – Between the end of the Chatterley ban And the Beatles’ first LP. Up to then there’d only been A sort of bargaining, A wrangle for the ring, A shame that started at sixteen And spread to everything. Then all at once the […]
An Arundel Tomb by Philip Larkin
Side by side, their faces blurred, The earl and countess lie in stone, Their proper habits vaguely shown As jointed armour, stiffened pleat, And that faint hint of the absurd – The little dogs under their feet. Such plainness of the pre-baroque Hardly involves the eye, until It meets his left-hand gauntlet, still Clasped empty […]
Ambulances by Philip Larkin
Closed like confessionals, they thread Loud noons of cities, giving back None of the glances they absorb. Light glossy grey, arms on a plaque, They come to rest at any kerb: All streets in time are visited. Then children strewn on steps or road, Or women coming from the shops Past smells of different dinners, […]
A Study Of Reading Habits by Philip Larkin
When getting my nose in a book Cured most things short of school, It was worth ruining my eyes To know I could still keep cool, And deal out the old right hook To dirty dogs twice my size. Later, with inch-thick specs, Evil was just my lark: Me and my coat and fangs Had […]
“Wonkavite…” by Roald Dahl
“If you are old and have the shakes, If all your bones are full of aches, If you can hardly walk at all, If living drives you up the wall, If you’re a grump and full of spite, If you’re a human parasite, THEN WHAT YOU NEED IS WONKA-VITE! Your eyes will shine, your hair […]
Violet Beauregarde… by Roald Dahl
“Dear friends, we surely all agree There’s almost nothing worse to see Than some repulsive little bum Who’s always chewing chewing gum. (It’s very near as bad as those Who sit around and pick the nose). So please believe us when we say That chewing gum will never pay; This sticky habit’s bound to send […]
The Rowing Song by Roald Dahl
Round the world and home again That’s the sailor’s way Faster faster, faster faster There’s no earthly way of knowing Which direction we are going There’s no knowing where we’re rowing Or which way the river’s flowing Is it raining, is it snowing Is a hurricane a-blowing Not a speck of light is showing So […]
The Crocodile by Roald Dahl
“No animal is half as vile As Crocky-Wock, the crocodile. On Saturdays he likes to crunch Six juicy children for his lunch And he especially enjoys Just three of each, three girls, three boys. He smears the boys (to make them hot) With mustard from the mustard pot. But mustard doesn’t go with girls, It […]
St Ives by Roald Dahl
As I was going to St Ives I met a man with seven wives Said he, ‘I think it’s much more fun Than getting stuck with only one.’ ————— The End And that’s the End of the Poem © Poetry Monster, 2021. Poems by topic and subject. Poetry Monster — the ultimate repository of world poetry. […]
Violet Beauregarde… by Roald Dahl
“Dear friends, we surely all agree There’s almost nothing worse to see Than some repulsive little bum Who’s always chewing chewing gum. (It’s very near as bad as those Who sit around and pick the nose). So please believe us when we say That chewing gum will never pay; This sticky habit’s bound to send […]
“Veruca Salt…” by Roald Dahl
“Veruca Salt, the little brute, Has just gone down the garbage chute, (And as we very rightly thought That in a case like this we ought To see the thing completely through, We’ve polished off her parents, too.) Down goes Veruca! Down the drain! And here, perhaps, we should explain That she will meet, as […]
My teacher wasn’t half as nice as yours seems to be by Roald Dahl
“My teacher wasn’t half as nice as yours seems to be. His name was Mister Unsworth and he taught us history. And when you didn’t know a date he’d get you by the ear And start to twist while you sat there quite paralysed with fear. He’d twist and twist and twist your ear and […]
“Mike Teavee…” by Roald Dahl
The most important thing we’ve learned, So far as children are concerned, Is never, NEVER, NEVER let Them near your television set — Or better still, just don’t install The idiotic thing at all. In almost every house we’ve been, We’ve watched them gaping at the screen. They loll and slop and lounge about, And […]
Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf by Roald Dahl
As soon as Wolf began to feel That he would like a decent meal, He went and knocked on Grandma’s door. When Grandma opened it, she saw The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin, And Wolfie said, “May I come in?” Poor Grandmamma was terrified, “He’s going to eat me up!” she cried. And she […]
I’ve Got a Golden Ticket by Roald Dahl
I never thought my life could be Anything but catastrophe But suddenly I begin to see A bit of good luck for me ‘Cause I’ve got a golden ticket I’ve got a golden twinkle in my eye I never had a chance to shine Never a happy song to sing But suddenly half the world […]
I had a little nut-tree, by Roald Dahl
I had a little nut-tree, Nothing would it bear. I searched in all its branches, But not a nut was there. “Oh, little tree,” I begged, “Give me just a few.” The little tree looked down at me And whispered, “Nuts to you.” ————— The End And that’s the End of the Poem © Poetry Monster, […]
Hot and Cold by Roald Dahl
A woman who my mother knows Came in and took off all her clothes. Said I, not being very old, ‘By golly gosh, you must be cold!’ ‘No, no!’ she cried. ‘Indeed I’m not! I’m feeling devilishly hot!’ ————— The End And that’s the End of the Poem © Poetry Monster, 2021. Poems by topic and […]
“Goldie Pinklesweet…” by Roald Dahl
“Attention please! Attention please! Don’t dare to talk! Don’t dare to sneeze! Don’t doze or daydream! Stay awake! Your health, your very life’s at stake! Ho-ho, you say, they can’t mean me. Ha-ha, we answer, wait and see. Did any of you ever meet A child called Goldie Pinklesweet? Who on her seventh birthday went […]
Excerpt – “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” by Roald Dahl
“This famous wicked little tale Should never have been put on sale It is a mystery to me Why loving parents cannot see That this is actually a book About a brazen little crook…” “…Now just imagine how you’d feel If you had cooked a lovely meal, Delicious porridge, steaming hot, Fresh coffee in the […]
Augustus Gloop… by Roald Dahl
“Augustus Gloop! Augustus Gloop! The great big greedy nincompoop! How long could we allow this beast To gorge and guzzle, feed and feast On everything he wanted to? Great Scott! It simply wouldn’t do! However long this pig might live, We’re positive he’d never give Even the smallest bit of fun Or happiness to anyone. […]
On the Danger of Procrastination by Abraham Cowley
THE DANGER OF PROCRASTINATION A letter to Mr. S. L. I am glad that you approve and applaud my design of withdrawing myself from all tumult and business of the world and consecrating the little rest of my time to those studies to which nature had so motherly inclined me, and from which fortune like a step-mother has so […]