The Rice Was Under Water
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The Rice was under water, and the land was scourged with rain, The nights were desolation, and the day was born in pain. Ah, the famine and the fever and the cruel, swollen streams, I had died, except for Krishna, […]
The Rice Boat
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) I slept upon the Rice-boat That, reef protected, lay At anchor, where the palm-trees Infringe upon the bay. The windless air was heavy With cinnamon and rose, The midnight calm seemed waiting, Too fateful for repose. One joined me on […]
The Regret Of The Ranee In The Hall Of Peacocks
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) This man has taken my Husband’s life And laid my Brethren low, No sister indeed, were I, no wife, To pardon and let him go. Yet why does he look so young and slim As he weak and wounded lies? […]
The Rao Of Ilore
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) I was sold to the Rao of Ilore, Slender and tall was he. When his litter carried him down the street I peeped through the thatch to see. Ah, the eyes of the Rao of Ilore, My lover that was […]
The Plains
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) How one loves them These wide horizons; whether Desert or Sea,– Vague and vast and infinite; faintly clear– Surely, hid in the far away, unknown “There,” Lie the things so longed for and found not, found not, Here. Only where […]
The Net Of Memory
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) I cast the Net of Memory, Man’s torment and delight, Over the level Sands of Youth That lay serenely bright, Their tranquil gold at times submerged In the Spring Tides of Love’s Delight. The Net brought up, in silver gleams, […]
The Masters
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Oh, Masters, you who rule the world, Will you not wait with me awhile, When swords are sheathed and sails are furled, And all the fields with harvest smile? I would not waste your time for long, I ask you […]
The Lute Player Of Casa Blanca
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) No others sing as you have sung Oh, Well Beloved of me! So glad you are, so lithe and young, As joyous as the sea, That dances in the golden rain The falling sunbeams fling, – Ah, stoop and kiss […]
The Lament Of Yasmini The Dancing Girl
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Ah, what hast thou done with that Lover of mine? The Lover who only cared for thee? Mine for a handful of nights, and thine For the Nights that Are and the Days to Be, The scent of the Champa […]
The Jungle Flower
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Ah, the cool silence of the shaded hours, The scent and colour of the jungle flowers! Thou art one of the jungle flowers, strange and fierce and fair, Palest amber, perfect lines, and scented with champa flower. Lie back and […]
The Hut
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Dear little Hut by the rice-fields circled, That cocoa-nuts shade above. I hear the voices of children singing, And that means love. When shall the traveller’s march be over, When shall his wandering cease? This little homestead is bare and […]
The Hospital On The Shore
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The youthful swimmers come up on the beach, Naked and fresh from the kiss of the sea, I hear the sound of their light-hearted speech As it is with them, it was once with me ! Oh, Death, grant me […]
The Garden Of Kama Kama The Indian Eros
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The daylight is dying, The Flying fox flying, Amber and amethyst burn in the sky. See, the sun throws a late, Lingering, roseate Kiss to the landscape to bid it good-bye. The time of our Trysting! Oh, come, unresisting, Lovely, […]
The Garden By The Bridge
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The Desert sands are heated, parched and dreary, The tigers rend alive their quivering prey In the near Jungle; here the kites rise, weary, Too gorged with living food to fly away. All night the hungry jackals howl together Over […]
The First Wife
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Ah, my lord, are the tidings true, That thy mother’s jewels are shapen anew? I hear that a bride has chosen been, The stars consulted, the parents seen. Had I been childless, had never there smiled The brilliant eyes from […]
The First Lover
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) As o’er the vessel’s side she leant, She saw the swimmer in the sea With eager eyes on her intent, “Come down, come down and swim with me.” So weary was she of her lot, Tired of the ship’s monotony, […]
The Dying Prince
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) There are no days for me any more, for the dawn is dark with tears, There is no rest for me any more, for the night is thick with fears. There are no flowers nor any fruit, for the sorrowful […]
The Convert
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The sun was hot on the tamarind trees, Their shadows shrivelled and shrank. No coolness came on the off-shore breeze That rattled the scrub on the bank. She stretched her appealing arms to me, Uplifting the Flagon of Love to […]
The Cactus
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) The scarlet flower, with never a sister leaf, Stemless, springs from the edge of the Cactus-thorn: Thus from the ragged wounds of desperate grief A beautiful Thought, perfect and pure, is born. Poetry Monster – Home […]
The Cactus Thicket
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) “The Atlas summits were veiled in purple gloom, But a golden moon above rose clear and free. The cactus thicket was ruddy with scarlet bloom Where, through the silent shadow, he came to me.” “All my sixteen summers were but […]
The Bride
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Beat on the Tom-toms, and scatter the flowers, Jasmin, Hibiscus, vermillion and white, This is the day, and the Hour of Hours, Bring forth the Bride for her Lover’s delight. Maidens no more, as a maiden shall claim her, Near, […]
The Aloe
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) My life was like an Aloe flower, beneath an orient sky, Your sunshine touched it for an hour; it blossomed but to die. Torn up, cast out, on rubbish heaps where red flames work their will Each atom of the […]
Syed Amir
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Syed Amir is dead, and his numerous foes Are hushed in a breathless awe of amazed relief. The hearts of his friends are cold as the Tirah snows, And I am blind and deaf in the Grip of my Grief. […]
Surface Rights
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Drifting, drifting down the River, Tawny current and foam-flecked tide, Sorrowful songs of lonely boatmen, Mournful forests on either side. Thine are the outcrops’ glittering blocks, The quartz where the rich pyrites gleam, The golden treasure of unhewn rocks And […]
Surf Song
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) My little one, come and listen To the calling of the sea’ And watch how the wet sands glisten Where the surf has left them free’ As thou and the wind together, Shall frolic along the strand; Thy feet as […]
Sunstroke
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Oh, straight, white road that runs to meet, Across green fields, the blue green sea, You knew the little weary feet Of my child bride that was to be! Her people brought her from the shore One golden day in […]
Story Of Udaipore Told By Lalla Ji The Priest
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) “And when the Summer Heat is great, And every hour intense, The Moghra, with its subtle flowers, Intoxicates the sense.” The Coco palms stood tall and slim, against the golden-glow, And all their grey and graceful plumes were waving to […]
Story Of Lilavanti
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) They lay the slender body down With all its wealth of wetted hair, Only a daughter of the town, But very young and slight and fair. The eyes, whose light one cannot see, Are sombre doubtless, like the tresses, The […]
Story By Lalla Ji The Priest
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) He loved the Plant with a keen delight, A passionate fervour, strange to see, Tended it ardently, day and night, Yet never a flower lit up the tree. The leaves were succulent, thick, and green, And, sessile, out of the […]
Starlight
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) O beautiful Stars, when you see me go Hither and thither, in search of love, Do you think me faithless, who gleam and glow Serene and fixed in the blue above? O Stars, so golden, it is not so. But […]
Song Of The Peri
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Beauty, the Gift of Gifts, I give to thee. Pleasure and love shall spring around thy feet As through the lake the lotuses arise Pinkly transparent and divinely sweet. I give thee eyes aglow like morning stars, Delicate brows, a […]
Song Of The Parao Camping Ground
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Heart, my heart, thou hast found thy home! From gloom and sorrow thou hast come forth, Thou who wast foolish, and sought to roam ‘Neath the cruel stars of the frozen North. Thou hast returned to thy dear delights; The […]
Song Of The Enfifa River
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) At day-break, when the tide was low He came to bathe his slender feet, And laughing, sported to and fro, Across my waters cool and sweet. Obedient to his Faith’s decree His sable hair was shorn away, One curl was […]
Song Of The Devoted Slave
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) There is one God: Mahomed his Prophet. Had I his power I would take the topmost peaks of the snow-clad Himalayas, And would range them around your dwelling, during the heats of summer, To cool the airs that fan your […]
Song Of The Colours By Taj Mahomed
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) _Rose-colour_ Rose Pink am I, the colour gleams and glows In many a flower; her lips, those tender doors By which, in time of love, love’s essence flows From him to her, are dyed in delicate Rose. Mine is the […]
Song Of Taj Mahomed
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Dear is my inlaid sword; across the Border It brought me much reward; dear is my Mistress, The jewelled treasure of an amorous hour. Dear beyond measure are my dreams and Fancies. These I adore; for these I live and […]
Song Of Ramesram Temple Girl
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Now is the season of my youth, Not thus shall I always be, Listen, dear Lord, thou too art young, Take thy pleasure with me. My hair is straight as the falling rain, And fine as morning mist, I am […]
Song Of Khan Zada
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) As one may sip a Stranger’s Bowl You gave yourself but not your soul. I wonder, now that time has passed, Where you will come to rest at last. You gave your beauty for an hour, I held it gently […]
Song Of Jasoda
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Had I been young I could have claimed to fold thee For many days against my eager breast; But, as things are, how can I hope to hold thee Once thou hast wakened from this fleeting rest? Clear shone the […]
Song Of Faiz Ulla
A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904) Just at the time when Jasmins bloom, most sweetly in the summer weather, Lost in the scented Jungle gloom, one sultry night we spent together We, Love and Night, together blent, a Trinity of tranced content. Yet, while your lips […]