A Poet’s Eightieth Birthday poem – Alfred Austin
“He dieth young whom the Gods love,” was said By Greek Menander; nor alone by One Who gave to Greece his English song and sword Re-echoed is the saying, but likewise he “Who uttered nothing base,” and from whose brow, By right divine, the laurel lapsed to yours,- Great sire, great successor,-in verse confirmed […]
A November Note poem – Alfred Austin
Why, throstle, do you sing In this November haze? Singing for what? for whom? Deem you that it is Spring, Or that your lonely lays Will stave off Winter’s gloom? Then did the bird reply: “I sing because I know That Spring will surely come: That is the reason why, Though menaced by the […]
A Night In June poem – Alfred Austin
Lady! in this night of June Fair like thee and holy, Art thou gazing at the moon That is rising slowly? I am gazing on her now: Something tells me, so art thou. Night hath been when thou and I Side by side were sitting, Watching o’er the moonlit sky Fleecy cloudlets flitting. Close […]
A Meeting poem – Alfred Austin
Queen, widowed Mother of a widowed child, Whose ancient sorrow goeth forth to meet Her new-born sorrow with parental feet, And tearful eyes that oft on hers have smiled, Will not your generous heart be now beguiled From its too lonely anguish, as You greet Her anguish, yet more cruel and complete, And, through […]
A March Minstrel poem – Alfred Austin
Hail! once again, that sweet strong note! Loud on my loftiest larch, Thou quaverest with thy mottled throat, Brave minstrel of bleak March! Hearing thee flute, who pines or grieves For vernal smiles and showers? Thy voice is greener than the leaves, And fresher than the flowers. Scorning to wait for tuneful May When […]
A Letter From Italy poem – Alfred Austin
I Lately, when we wished good-bye Underneath a gloomy sky, “Bear,” you said, “my love in mind, Leaving me not quite behind; And across the mountains send News and greeting to your friend.” II Swiftly though we did advance Through the rich flat fields of France, Still the eye grew tired to see Patches […]
A Last Request poem – Alfred Austin
Let not the roses lie Too thickly tangled round my tomb, Lest fleecy clouds that skim the summer sky, Flinging their faint soft shadows, pass it by, And know not over whom. And let not footsteps come Too frequent round that nook of rest; Should I-who knoweth?-not be deaf, though dumb, Bird’s idle pipe, […]
A Fragment poem – Alfred Austin
Should fickle hands in far-off days No longer stroke thy hair, And lips that once were proud to praise Forget to call thee fair, Sigh but my name, and though I be Mute in the churchyard mould, I will arise and come to thee, And worship as of old. And should I meet the […]
A Florilegium poem – Alfred Austin
I All the seasons of the year, I have flowers for you, dear. When the ploughland’s flecked with snow, And the blue-eyed scyllas blow, Gazing, through the wintry gale, Like your eyes when you are pale; When in many a cloistered walk Droop upon their modest stalk Vestal snowdrops, one by one, White as […]
A Farmhouse Dirge poem – Alfred Austin
Will you walk with me to the brow of the hill, to visit the farmer’s wife, Whose daughter lies in the churchyard now, eased of the ache of life? Half a mile by the winding lane, another half to the top: There you may lean o’er the gate and rest; she will want me […]
A Farewell To Youth poem – Alfred Austin
Ere that I say farewell to youth, and take The homely road that leads to life’s decline, Let me be sure again I shall not pine To taste the bliss you bid me to forsake: That Spring’s returning raptures will not wake Too late repentance for abjuring mine, Nor the old sweets I pledge […]
A Dream Of England poem – Alfred Austin
I had a dream of England. Wild and weird, The billows ravened round her, and the wrack, Darkening and dwindling, blotted out the track, Then flashed on her a bolt that scorched and seared. She, writhing in her ruin, rolled, and reared, Then headlonged unto doom, that drove her back To welter on the […]
A Dialogue At Fiesole poem – Alfred Austin
HE. Halt here awhile. That mossy-cushioned seat Is for your queenliness a natural throne; As I am fitly couched on this low sward, Here at your feet. SHE. And I, in thought, at yours: My adoration, deepest. HE. Deep, so deep, I have no thought wherewith to fathom it; Or, shall I say, no […]
A Defence Of English Spring poem – Alfred Austin
Unnamed, unknown, but surely bred Where Thames, once silver, now runs lead, Whose journeys daily ebb and flow ‘Twixt Tyburn and the bells of Bow, You late in learnëd prose have told How, for the happy bards of old, Spring burst upon Sicilian seas, Or blossomed in the Cyclades, But never yet hath deigned […]
A Country Nosegay poem – Alfred Austin
Where have you been through the long sweet hours That follow the fragrant feet of June? By the dells and the dingles gathering flowers, Ere the dew of the dawn be sipped by noon. And sooth each wilding that buds and blows You seem to have found and clustered here, Round the rustic sprays […]
A Christmas Carol poem – Alfred Austin
Hark! In the air, around, above, The Angelic Music soars and swells, And, in the Garden that I love, I hear the sound of Christmas Bells. From hamlet hollow, village height, The silvery Message seems to start, And, far away, its notes to-night Are surging through the city’s heart. Assurance clear to those who fret […]
A Captive Throstle poem – Alfred Austin
Poor little mite with mottled breast, Half-fledged, and fallen from the nest, For whom this world hath just begun, Who want to fly, yet scarce can run; Why open wide your yellow beak? Is it for hunger, or to speak- To tell me that you fain would be Loosed from my hand to liberty? […]
A Border Burn poem – Alfred Austin
Where Autumn runnels fret and foam Past banks of amber fern, Since track was none I chanced to roam Along a Border burn. The rain was gone, the winds were furled, No cloud was in the sky, So that there seemed in all the world Only the stream and I. At length upon a […]
A Birthday Present poem – Alfred Austin
“`Say what, to please you, you would have me be.” Then listen, dear! I fain would have you very fair to see, And sweet to hear. `You should have Aphrodite’s form and face, With Dian’s tread; And something of Minerva’s lofty grace Should crown your head. `Summer should wander in your voice, and Spring […]
You Smile Upon Your Friend To-Day poem – A. E. Housman
You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover’s say, And happy is the lover. ‘Tis late to hearken, late to smile, But better late than never; I shall have lived a little while Before I die for ever. Alfred Edward HousemanAlfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) was an […]
White in the Moon the Long Road Lies poem – A. E. Housman
White in the moon the long road lies, The moon stands blank above; White in the moon the long road lies That leads me from my love. Still hangs the hedge without a gust, Still, still the shadows stay: My feet upon the moonlit dust Pursue the ceaseless way. The world is round, so travellers […]
When the Lad for Longing Sigh poem – A. E. Housman
When the lad for longing sighs, Mute and dull of cheer and pale, If at death’s own door he lies, Maiden, you can heal his ail. Lovers’ ills are all to buy: The wan look, the hollow tone, The hung head, the sunken eye, You can have them for your own. Buy them, buy them: […]
When the Lad for Longing Sigh poem – A. E. Housman
When the lad for longing sighs, Mute and dull of cheer and pale, If at death’s own door he lies, Maiden, you can heal his ail. Lovers’ ills are all to buy: The wan look, the hollow tone, The hung head, the sunken eye, You can have them for your own. Buy them, buy them: […]
When Smoke Stood Up From Ludlow poem – A. E. Housman
When smoke stood up from Ludlow, And mist blew off from Teme, And blithe afield to ploughing Against the morning beam I strode beside my team, The blackbird in the coppice Looked out to see me stride, And hearkened as I whistled The trampling team beside, And fluted and replied: “Lie down, lie down, young […]
When Smoke Stood Up From Ludlow poem – A. E. Housman
When smoke stood up from Ludlow, And mist blew off from Teme, And blithe afield to ploughing Against the morning beam I strode beside my team, The blackbird in the coppice Looked out to see me stride, And hearkened as I whistled The trampling team beside, And fluted and replied: “Lie down, lie down, young […]
When I Watch the Living Meet poem – Alfred Edward Housman
When I watch the living meet And the moving pageant file Warm and breathing through the street Where I lodge a little while, If the heats of hate and lust In the house of flesh are strong, Let me mind the house of dust Where my sojourn shall be long. In the nation that is […]
When I Watch the Living Meet poem – Alfred Edward Housman
When I watch the living meet And the moving pageant file Warm and breathing through the street Where I lodge a little while, If the heats of hate and lust In the house of flesh are strong, Let me mind the house of dust Where my sojourn shall be long. In the nation that is […]
When I Came Last to Ludlow poem – A. E. Housman
When I came last to Ludlow Amidst the moonlight pale, Two friends kept step beside me, Two honest friends and hale. Now Dick lies long in the churchyard, And Ned lies long in jail, And I come home to Ludlow Amidst the moonlight pale. Alfred Edward HousemanAlfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) was an English classical […]
When I Came Last to Ludlow poem – A. E. Housman
When I came last to Ludlow Amidst the moonlight pale, Two friends kept step beside me, Two honest friends and hale. Now Dick lies long in the churchyard, And Ned lies long in jail, And I come home to Ludlow Amidst the moonlight pale. Alfred Edward HousemanAlfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) was an English classical […]
Westward on the High-Hilled Plains poem – A. E. Housman
Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began, Still, I think, in newer veins Frets the changeless blood of man. Now that other lads than I Strip to bathe on Severn shore, They, no help, for all they try, Tread the mill I trod before. There, when hueless is the west And […]
Westward on the High-Hilled Plains poem – A. E. Housman
Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began, Still, I think, in newer veins Frets the changeless blood of man. Now that other lads than I Strip to bathe on Severn shore, They, no help, for all they try, Tread the mill I trod before. There, when hueless is the west And […]
Wake Not for the World-Heard Thunder poem – A. E. Housman
Wake not for the world-heard thunder, Nor the chimes that earthquakes toll; Stars may plot in heaven with planet, Lightning rive the rock of granite, Tempest tread the oakwood under, Fear not you for flesh or soul; Marching, fighting, victory past, Stretch your limbs in peace at last. Stir not for the soldier’s drilling, Nor […]
Tis Time, I Think, By Wenlock Town poem – A. E. Housman
‘Tis time, I think, by Wenlock town The golden broom should blow; The hawthorn sprinkled up and down Should charge the land with snow. Spring will not wait the loiterer’s time Who keeps so long away; So others wear the broom and climb The hedgerows heaped with may. Oh tarnish late on Wenlock Edge, Gold […]
Tis Time, I Think, By Wenlock Town poem – A. E. Housman
‘Tis time, I think, by Wenlock town The golden broom should blow; The hawthorn sprinkled up and down Should charge the land with snow. Spring will not wait the loiterer’s time Who keeps so long away; So others wear the broom and climb The hedgerows heaped with may. Oh tarnish late on Wenlock Edge, Gold […]
Think No More, Lad poem – A. E. Housman
Think no more, lad; laugh, be jolly: Why should men make haste to die? Empty heads and tongues a-talking Make the rough road easy walking, And the feather pate of folly Bears the falling sky. Oh, ’tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins the heavy world around. If young hearts were not so clever, Oh, they would […]
Think No More, Lad poem – A. E. Housman
Think no more, lad; laugh, be jolly: Why should men make haste to die? Empty heads and tongues a-talking Make the rough road easy walking, And the feather pate of folly Bears the falling sky. Oh, ’tis jesting, dancing, drinking Spins the heavy world around. If young hearts were not so clever, Oh, they would […]
There Pass the Careless People poem – A. E. Housman
There pass the careless people That call their souls their own: Here by the road I loiter, How idle and alone. Ah, past the plunge of plummet, In seas I cannot sound, My heart and soul and senses, World without end, are drowned. His folly has not fellow Beneath the blue of day That gives […]
There Pass the Careless People poem – A. E. Housman
There pass the careless people That call their souls their own: Here by the road I loiter, How idle and alone. Ah, past the plunge of plummet, In seas I cannot sound, My heart and soul and senses, World without end, are drowned. His folly has not fellow Beneath the blue of day That gives […]
The Winds Out of the West Land Blow poem – A. E. Housman
The winds out of the west land blow, My friends have breathed them there; Warm with the blood of lads I know Comes east the sighing air. It fanned their temples, filled their lungs, Scattered their forelocks free; My friends made words of it with tongues That talk no more to me. Their voices, dying […]
The Winds Out of the West Land Blow poem – A. E. Housman
The winds out of the west land blow, My friends have breathed them there; Warm with the blood of lads I know Comes east the sighing air. It fanned their temples, filled their lungs, Scattered their forelocks free; My friends made words of it with tongues That talk no more to me. Their voices, dying […]