Lapr S Midi Dun Faune
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) (From the French of Stéphane Mallarmé.) I would immortalize these nymphs: so bright Their sunlit colouring, so airy light, It floats like drowsing down. Loved I a dream? My doubts, born of oblivious darkness, seem A subtle tracery of branches grown The tree’s true self–proving that […]
Italy
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) There is a country in my mind, Lovelier than a poet blind Could dream of, who had never known This world of drought and dust and stone In all its ugliness: a place Full of an all but human grace; Whose dells retain the printed form […]
Inspiration
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) Noonday upon the Alpine meadows Pours its avalanche of Light And blazing flowers: the very shadows Translucent are and bright. It seems a glory that nought surpasses– Passion of angels in form and hue– When, lo! from the jewelled heaven of the grasses Leaps a lightning […]
In Uncertainty To A Lady
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) I am not one of those who sip, Like a quotidian bock, Cheap idylls from a languid lip Prepared to yawn or mock. I wait the indubitable word, The great Unconscious Cue. Has it been spoken and unheard? Spoken, perhaps, by you …? Poetry […]
Doors Of The Temple
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) Many are the doors of the spirit that lead Into the inmost shrine: And I count the gates of the temple divine, Since the god of the place is God indeed. And these are the gates that God decreed Should lead to his house: – kisses […]
Darkness
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) My close-walled soul has never known That innermost darkness, dazzling sight, Like the blind point, whence the visions spring In the core of the gazer’s chrysolite… The mystic darkness that laps God’s throne In a splendour beyond imagining, So passing bright. But the many twisted darknesses […]
Crapulous Impression
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) (To J.S.) Still life, still life … the high-lights shine Hard and sharp on the bottles: the wine Stands firmly solid in the glasses, Smooth yellow ice, through which there passes The lamp’s bright pencil of down-struck light. The fruits metallically gleam, Globey in their heaped-up […]
Complaint Of A Poet Manqu
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) We judge by appearance merely: If I can’t think strangely, I can at least look queerly. So I grew the hair so long on my head That my mother wouldn’t know me, Till a woman in a night-club said, As I was passing by, “Hullo, here […]
By The Fire
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) We who are lovers sit by the fire, Cradled warm ‘twixt thought and will, Sit and drowse like sleeping dogs In the equipoise of all desire, Sit and listen to the still Small hiss and whisper of green logs That burn away, that burn away With […]
Books And Thoughts
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) Old ghosts that death forgot to ferry Across the Lethe of the years – These are my friends, and at their tears I weep and with their mirth am merry. On a high tower, whose battlements Give me all heaven at a glance, I lie long […]
Anniversaries
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) Once more the windless days are here, Quiet of autumn, when the year Halts and looks backward and draws breath Before it plunges into death. Silver of mist and gossamers, Through-shine of noonday’s glassy gold, Pale blue of skies, where nothing stirs Save one blanched leaf, […]
A Melody By Scarlatti
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) HOW clear under the trees, How softly the music flows, Rippling from one still pool to another Into the lake of silence. Poetry Monster – Home A few random poems: External links Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry […]
A Little Memory
A poem by Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) White in the moonlight, Wet with dew, We have known the languor Of being two. We have been weary As children are, When over them, radiant, A stooping star, Bends their Good-Night, Kissed and smiled:– Each was mother, Each was child. Child, from your forehead I […]
Youth
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) I am not sure if I knew the truth What his case or crime might be, I only know that he pleaded Youth, A beautiful, golden plea! Youth, with its sunlit, passionate eyes, Its roseate velvet skin– A plea to […]
Yasmini
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) At night, when Passion’s ebbing tide Left bare the Sands of Truth, Yasmini, resting by my side, Spoke softly of her youth. “And one” she said “was tall and slim, Two crimson rose leaves made his mouth, And I was […]
Yasin Khan
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Ay, thou has found thy kingdom, Yasin Khan, Thy fathers’ pomp and power are thine, at last. No more the rugged roads of Khorasan, The scanty food and tentage of the past! Wouldst thou make war? thy followers know no […]
Written In Cananore
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) I Who was it held that Love was soothing or sweet? Mine is a painful fire, at its whitest heat. Who said that Beauty was ever a gentle joy? Thine is a sword that flashes but to destroy. Though mine […]
Wings
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Was it worth while to forego our wings To gain these dextrous hands ? Truly they fashion us wonderful things As the fancy of man demands. But–to fly! to sail through the lucid air From crest to violet crest Of […]
When Love Is Over
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Song of Khan Zada Only in August my heart was aflame, Catching the scent of your Wind-stirred hair, Now, though you spread it to soften my sleep Through the night, I should hardly care. Only last August I drank that […]
Verses
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) You are my God, and I would fain adore You With sweet and secret rites of other days. Burn scented oil in silver lamps before You, Pour perfume on Your feet with prayer and praise. Yet are we one; Your […]
Verses Faiz Ulla
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Just in the hush before dawn A little wistful wind is born. A little chilly errant breeze, That thrills the grasses, stirs the trees. And, as it wanders on its way, While yet the night is cool and dark, The […]
Verse By Taj Mahomed
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) When first I loved, I gave my very soul Utterly unreserved to Love’s control, But Love deceived me, wrenched my youth away And made the gold of life for ever grey. Long I lived lonely, yet I tried in vain […]
Vayu The Wind
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Ah, Wind, I have always loved thee Since those far off nights When I lay beneath the vines A prey to strange delights, For among my tresses Thy soft caresses Were sweet as a lover’s to me. Later thou grewest […]
Valgovinds Song In The Spring
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The Temple bells are ringing, The young green corn is springing, And the marriage month is drawing very near. I lie hidden in the grass, And I count the moments pass, For the month of marriages is drawing near. Soon, […]
Valgovinds Boat Song
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Waters glisten and sunbeams quiver, The wind blows fresh and free. Take my boat to your breast, O River! Carry me out to Sea! This land is laden with fruit and grain, With never a place left free for flowers, […]
Unforgotten
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Do you ever think of me? you who died Ere our Youth’s first fervour chilled, With your soft eyes and your pulses stilled Lying alone, aside, Do you ever think of me, left in the light, From the endless calm […]
Unanswered
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Something compels me, somewhere. Yet I see No clear command in Life’s long mystery. Oft have I flung myself beside my horse, To drink the water from the roadside mire, And felt the liquid through my being course, Stilling the […]
Two Songs By Sitara Of Kashmir
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Beloved! your hair was golden As tender tints of sunrise, As corn beside the River In softly varying hues. I loved you for your slightness, Your melancholy sweetness, Your changeful eyes, that promised What your lips would still refuse. You […]
To The Unattainable
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Oh, that my blood were water, thou athirst, And thou and I in some far Desert land, How would I shed it gladly, if but first It touched thy lips, before it reached the sand. Once,–Ah, the Gods were good […]
To The Unattainable Lament Of Mahomed Akram
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) I would have taken Golden Stars from the sky for your necklace, I would have shaken rose-leaves for your rest from all the rose-trees. But you had no need; the short sweet grass sufficed for your slumber, And you took […]
To The Hills
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) ‘T is eight miles out and eight miles in, Just at the break of morn. ‘T is ice without and flame within, To gain a kiss at dawn! Far, where the Lilac Hills arise Soft from the misty plain, A […]
To M C N
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Thou hast no wealth, nor any pride of power, Thy life is offered on affection’s altar. Small sacrifices claim thee, hour by hour, Yet on the tedious path thou dost not falter. To the unknowing, well thy days might seem […]
To Aziz Song Of Mahomed Akram
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Your beauty puts a barb into my soul, Strive as I will it never lets me go. My love has passed the frontiers of control, You are so fair and I desire you so. Others may come and go, they […]
Till I Wake
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) When I am dying, lean over me tenderly, softly, Stoop, as the yellow roses droop in the wind from the South. So I may, when I wake, if there be an Awakening, Keep, what lulled me to sleep, the touch […]
Three Songs Of Zahir U Din
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The tropic day’s redundant charms Cool twilight soothes away, The sun slips down behind the palms And leaves the landscape grey. I want to take you in my arms And kiss your lips away! I wake with sunshine in my […]
Thoughts Mahomed Akram
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) If some day this body of mine were burned (It found no favour alas! with you) And the ashes scattered abroad, unurned, Would Love die also, would Thought die too? But who can answer, or who can trust, No dreams […]
Though In My Firmament Thou Wilt Not Shine
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Talk not, my Lord, of unrequited love, Since love requites itself most royally. Do we not live but by the sun above, And takes he any heed of thee or me? Though in my firmament thou wilt not shine, Thy […]
This Month The Almonds Bloom At Kandahar
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) I hate this City, seated on the Plain, The clang and clamour of the hot Bazar, Knowing, amid the pauses of my pain, This month the Almonds bloom in Kandahar. The Almond-trees, that sheltered my Delight, Screening my happiness as […]
There Is No Breeze To Cool The Heat Of Love
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The listless Palm-trees catch the breeze above The pile-built huts that edge the salt Lagoon, There is no Breeze to cool the heat of love, No wind from land or sea, at night or noon. Perfumed and robed I wait, […]
The Window Overlooking The Harbour
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Sad is the Evening: all the level sand Lies left and lonely, while the restless sea, Tired of the green caresses of the land, Withdraws into its own infinity. But still more sad this white and chilly Dawn Filling the […]