The World is with Me by Thomas Hood
The World is with Me by Thomas Hood The world is with me, and its many cares, Its woes–its wants–the anxious hopes and fears That wait on all terrestrial affairs– The shades of former and of future years– Forboding fancies and prophetic tears, Quelling a spirit that was once elate. Heavens! what a wilderness the […]
The Sun Was Slumbering in the West by Thomas Hood
The Sun Was Slumbering in the West by Thomas Hood The sun was slumbering in the West, My daily labors past; On Anna’s soft and gentle breast My head reclined at last; The darkness closed around, so dear To fond congenial souls, And thus she murmur’d at my ear, “My love, we’re out of coals! […]
The Song of the Shirt by Thomas Hood
The Song of the Shirt by Thomas Hood With fingers weary and worn, With eyelids heavy and red, A woman sat, in unwomanly rags, Plying her needle and thread– Stitch! stitch! stitch! In poverty, hunger, and dirt, And still with a voice of dolorous pitch She sang the “Song of the Shirt.” “Work! work! work! […]
The Haunted House by Thomas Hood
The Haunted House by Thomas Hood Oh, very gloomy is the house of woe, Where tears are falling while the bell is knelling, With all the dark solemnities that show That Death is in the dwelling! Oh, very, very dreary is the room Where Love, domestic Love, no longer nestles, But smitten by the common […]
The Dream of Eugene Aram by Thomas Hood
The Dream of Eugene Aram by Thomas Hood ‘Twas in the prime of summer-time An evening calm and cool, And four-and-twenty happy boys Came bounding out of school: There were some that ran and some that leapt, Like troutlets in a pool. Away they sped with gamesome minds, And souls untouched by sin; To a […]
The Death Bed by Thomas Hood
The Death Bed by Thomas Hood We watch’d her breathing thro’ the night, Her breathing soft and low, As in her breast the wave of life Kept heaving to and fro. But when the morn came dim and sad And chill with early showers, Her queit eyelids closed; she had Another morn than ours. ————— […]
The Bridge of Sighs by Thomas Hood
The Bridge of Sighs by Thomas Hood One more Unfortunate, Weary of breath, Rashly importunate, Gone to her death! Take her up tenderly, Lift her with care; Fashion’d so slenderly Young, and so fair! Look at her garments Clinging like cerements; Whilst the wave constantly Drips from her clothing; Take her up instantly, Loving, not […]
Silence by Thomas Hood
Silence by Thomas Hood There is a silence where hath been no sound, There is a silence where no sound may be, In the cold grave—under the deep, deep sea, Or in wide desert where no life is found, Which hath been mute, and still must sleep profound; No voice is hush’d—no life treads silently, […]
Ruth by Thomas Hood
Ruth by Thomas Hood She stood breast-high amid the corn, Clasp’d by the golden light of morn, Like the sweetheart of the sun, Who many a glowing kiss had won. On her cheek an autumn flush, Deeply ripen’d;—such a blush In the midst of brown was born, Like red poppies grown with corn. Round her […]
Past and Present by Thomas Hood
Past and Present by Thomas Hood I remember, I remember The house where I was born, The little window where the sun Came peeping in at morn; He never came a wink too soon Nor bought too long a day; But now, I often wish the night Had borne my breath away. I remember, I […]
On Mistress Nicely, a Pattern for Housekeepers by Thomas Hood
On Mistress Nicely, a Pattern for Housekeepers by Thomas Hood She was a woman peerless in her station, With household virtues wedded to her name; Spotless in linen, grass-bleached in her fame; And pure and clear-starched in her conversation; Thence in my Castle of Imagination She dwells for evermore, the dainty dame, To keep all […]
November by Thomas Hood
November by Thomas Hood No sun; no moon! No morn; no noon; No dawn; no dusk; no proper time of day. No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No comfortable feel in any member; No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds!; November! ————— The End And […]
No! by Thomas Hood
No! by Thomas Hood No sun–no moon! No morn–no noon! No dawn–no dusk–no proper time of day– No sky–no earthly view– No distance looking blue– No road–no street–no “t’other side this way”– No end to any Row– No indications where the Crescents go– No top to any steeple– No recognitions of familiar people– No courtesies […]
I Remember, I Remember by Thomas Hood
I Remember, I Remember by Thomas Hood I Remember, I Remember I remember, I remember The house where I was born, The little window where the sun Came peeping in at morn; He never came a wink too soon Nor brought too long a day; But now, I often wish the night Had borne my […]
Gold! by Thomas Hood
Gold! by Thomas Hood Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! Bright and yellow, hard and cold Molten, graven, hammered and rolled, Heavy to get and light to hold, Hoarded, bartered, bought and sold, Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled, Spurned by young, but hung by old To the verge of a church yard mold; Price of many a crime […]
Flowers by Thomas Hood
Flowers by Thomas Hood I will not have the mad Clytie, Whose head is turned by the sun; The tulip is a courtly queen, Whom, therefore, I will shun; The cowslip is a country wench, The violet is a nun; – But I will woo the dainty rose, The queen of everyone. The pea is […]
Faithless Sally Brown by Thomas Hood
Faithless Sally Brown by Thomas Hood Young Ben he was a nice young man, A carpenter by trade; And he fell in love with Sally Brown, That was a lady’s maid. But as they fetch’d a walk one day, They met a press-gang crew; And Sally she did faint away, Whilst Ben he was brought […]
Faithless Nelly Gray by Thomas Hood
Faithless Nelly Gray by Thomas Hood A Pathetic Ballad Ben Battle was a soldier bold, And used to war’s alarms; But a cannon-ball took off his legs, So he laid down his arms. Now as they bore him off the field, Said he, ‘Let others shoot; For here I leave my second leg, And the […]
Death by Thomas Hood
Death by Thomas Hood It is not death, that sometime in a sigh This eloquent breath shall take its speechless flight; That sometime these bright stars, that now reply In sunlight to the sun, shall set in night; That this warm conscious flesh shall perish quite, And all life’s ruddy springs forget to flow; That […]
Christmas Holidays by Thomas Hood
Christmas Holidays by Thomas Hood Along the Woodford road there comes a noise Of wheels, and Mr. Rounding’s neat post-chaise Struggles along, drawn by a pair of bays, With Reverend Mr. Crow and six small boys, Who ever and anon declare their joys With trumping horns and juvenile huzzas, At going home to spend their […]
Autumn by Thomas Hood
Autumn by Thomas Hood I Saw old Autumn in the misty morn Stand shadowless like Silence, listening To silence, for no lonely bird would sing Into his hollow ear from woods forlorn, Nor lowly hedge nor solitary thorn;— Shaking his languid locks all dewy bright With tangled gossamer that fell by night, Pearling his coronet […]
Allegory by Thomas Hood
Allegory by Thomas Hood I had a gig-horse, and I called him Pleasure Because on Sundays for a little jaunt He was so fast and showy, quite a treasure; Although he sometimes kicked and shied aslant. I had a chaise, and christened it Enjoyment, With yellow body and the wheels of red, Because it was […]
A Lake And A Fairy Boat by Thomas Hood
A Lake And A Fairy Boat by Thomas Hood A lake and a fairy boat To sail in the moonlight clear, – And merrily we would float From the dragons that watch us here! Thy gown should be snow-white silk And strings of oriental pearls, Like gossamers dipped in milk, Should twine with thy raven […]
Your Last Drive by Thomas Hardy
Here by the moorway you returned, And saw the borough lights ahead That lit your face – all undiscerned To be in a week the face of the dead, And you told of the charm of that haloed view That never again would beam on you. And on your left you passed the spot Where […]
Without Ceremony by Thomas Hardy
It was your way, my dear, To be gone without a word When callers, friends, or kin Had left, and I hastened in To rejoin you, as I inferred. And when you’d a mind to career Off anywhere – say to town – You were all on a sudden gone Before I had thought thereon, […]
[Greek Title] by Thomas Hardy
Long have I framed weak phantasies of Thee, O Willer masked and dumb! Who makest Life become, – As though by labouring all-unknowingly, Like one whom reveries numb. How much of consciousness informs Thy will Thy biddings, as if blind, Of death-inducing kind, Nought shows to us ephemeral ones who fill But moments in Thy […]
Afterwards by Thomas Hardy
When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay, And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings, Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the neighbours say, ‘He was a man who used to notice such things’? If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid’s soundless blink, The dewfall-hawk comes […]
A Broken Appointment by Thomas Hardy
You did not come, And marching Time drew on, and wore me numb. Yet less for loss of your dear presence there Than that I thus found lacking in your make That high compassion which can overbear Reluctance for pure lovingkindness’ sake Grieved I, when, as the hope-hour stroked its sum, You did not come. […]
The Huntsmen by Walter de la Mare
The Huntsmen by Walter de la Mare Three jolly gentlemen, In coats of red, Rode their horses Up to bed. Three jolly gentlemen Snored till morn, Their horses champing The golden corn. Three jolly gentlemen At break of day, Came clitter-clatter down the stairs And galloped away. ————— The End And that’s the End of […]
The Ghost by Walter de la Mare
The Ghost by Walter de la Mare Peace in thy hands, Peace in thine eyes, Peace on thy brow; Flower of a moment in the eternal hour, Peace with me now. Not a wave breaks, Not a bird calls, My heart, like a sea, Silent after a storm that hath died, Sleeps within me. All […]
Snow by Walter de la Mare
Snow by Walter de la Mare No breath of wind, No gleam of sun – Still the white snow Whirls softly down Twig and bough And blade and thorn All in an icy Quiet, forlorn. Whispering, rustling, Through the air On still and stone, Roof,; everywhere, It heaps its powdery Crystal flakes, Of every tree […]
The Mocking Fairy by Walter de la Mare
The Mocking Fairy by Walter de la Mare ‘Won’t you look out of your window, Mrs. Gill?’ Quoth the Fairy, nidding, nodding in the garden; ‘Can’t you look out of your window, Mrs. Gill?’ Quoth the Fairy, laughing softly in the garden; But the air was still, the cherry boughs were still, And the ivy-tod […]
The Keys of Morning by Walter de la Mare
The Keys of Morning by Walter de la Mare While at her bedroom window once, Learning her task for school, Little Louisa lonely sat In the morning clear and cool, She slanted her small bead-brown eyes Across the empty street, And saw Death softly watching her In the sunshine pale and sweet. His was a […]
The Fool Rings His Bells by Walter de la Mare
The Fool Rings His Bells by Walter de la Mare Come, Death, I’d have a word with thee; And thou, poor Innocency; And Love — a lad with broken wing; Apnd Pity, too; The Fool shall sing to you, As Fools will sing. Ay, music hath small sense, And a tune’s soon told, And Earth […]
Tartary by Walter de la Mare
Tartary by Walter de la Mare If I were Lord of Tartary, Myself, and me alone, My bed should be of ivory, Of beaten gold my throne; And in my court should peacocks flaunt, And in my forests tigers haunt, And in my pools great fishes slant Their fins athwart the sun. If I were […]
Sunk Lyonesse by Walter de la Mare
Sunk Lyonesse by Walter de la Mare In sea-cold Lyonesse, When the Sabbath eve shafts down On the roofs, walls, belfries Of the foundered town, The Nereids pluck their lyres Where the green translucency beats, And with motionless eyes at gaze Make ministrely in the streets. And the ocean water stirs In salt-worn casement and […]
Some One by Walter de la Mare
Some One by Walter de la Mare Some one came knocking At my wee, small door; Someone came knocking; I’m sure-sure-sure; I listened, I opened, I looked to left and right, But nought there was a stirring In the still dark night; Only the busy beetle Tap-tapping in the wall, Only from the forest The […]
Silver by Walter de la Mare
Silver by Walter de la Mare Slowly, silently, now the moon Walks the night in her silver shoon; This way, and that, she peers, and sees Silver fruit upon silver trees; One by one the casements catch Her beams beneath the silvery thatch; Couched in his kennel, like a log, With paws of silver sleeps […]
Old Susan by Walter de la Mare
Old Susan by Walter de la Mare When Susan’s work was done, she’d sit With one fat guttering candle lit, And window opened wide to win The sweet night air to enter in; There, with a thumb to keep her place She’d read, with stern and wrinkled face. Her mild eyes gliding very slow Across […]
Off the Ground by Walter de la Mare
Off the Ground by Walter de la Mare Three jolly Farmers Once bet a pound Each dance the others would Off the ground. Out of their coats They slipped right soon, And neat and nicesome Put each his shoon. One–Two–Three! And away they go, Not too fast, And not too slow; Out from the elm-tree’s […]