Poetry Books

INTRODUCTION Professor Elizabeth Story Donno, in her recent (New York, 1963), has made an important contribution to both scholarship and teaching. Not only has she brought together for the first time in one volume most of the extant Elizabethan minor epics, but in so doing, she has hastened the recognition that the minor epic, or "epyllion" as it has often been called in modern times,[] is a... more...

CANTO XIII ERE Nessus yet had reach'd the other bank,We enter'd on a forest, where no trackOf steps had worn a way.  Not verdant thereThe foliage, but of dusky hue; not lightThe boughs and tapering, but with knares deform'dAnd matted thick: fruits there were none, but thornsInstead, with venom fill'd. Less sharp than these,Less intricate the brakes, wherein abideThose animals, that... more...

The Land God Forgot The lonely sunsets flare forlornDown valleys dreadly desolate;The lordly mountains soar in scornAs still as death, as stern as fate. The lonely sunsets flame and die;The giant valleys gulp the night;The monster mountains scrape the sky,Where eager stars are diamond-bright. So gaunt against the gibbous moon,Piercing the silence velvet-piled,A lone wolf howls his ancient rune —The... more...

A Serious Question A kitten went a-walkingOne morning in July,And idly fell a-talkingWith a great big butterfly. The kitten’s tone was airy,The butterfly would scoff;When there came along a fairyWho whisked his wings right off. And then—for it is writtenFairies can do such things—Upon the startled kittenShe stuck the yellow wings. The kitten felt a quiver,She rose into the air,Then flew down to... more...

  THE ARGUMENT.  God sends his angel to Tortosa down,  Godfrey unites the Christian Peers and Knights;  And all the Lords and Princes of renown  Choose him their Duke, to rule the wares and fights.  He mustereth all his host, whose number known,  He sends them to the fort that Sion hights;  The aged tyrant Juda's land that guides,  In fear and trouble, to resist provides.... more...

William and AmeliaMy GardenThe Inebriate's Daughter's Appeal to her FatherTo the Children in Mrs. Day's SchoolSong to BrantfordTo Elihu BurrittTo a VioletEmma, the Tinker's DaughterTo my Father, supposed to be dyingOde to PeaceStanzas suggested by a Funeral ACROSTICS:    I. To Mr. J. P——n, Missouri   II. To my Eldest Son, in severe sickness  III. A Tribute to the Memory... more...

THE NURSERY ALPHABET.A for the Alphabet, A, B, C;B for the Book that was given to me.C for the Corn that stands in the stack;D for the Donkey with cross on his back.E for the Engine that's lighted with coke;F for the Funnel that puffs out the smoke. The Nursery Alphabet. E F G H.G for the Goose that swims on the pond;H for the Hen, of her chickens so fond.I for the Icicle, frosty and cold;J for... more...

THE ROCK-A-BY LADY The Rock-a-By Lady from Hushaby streetComes stealing; comes creeping;The poppies they hang from her head to her feet,And each hath a dream that is tiny and fleet—She bringeth her poppies to you, my sweet,When she findeth you sleeping! There is one little dream of a beautiful drum—"Rub-a-dub!" it goeth;There is one little dream of a big sugar-plum,And lo! thick and fast... more...

SYMBOLISMTongueless the bell!Lute without a song!It is not nightIt is God's dawn,Silence its unending song.Over heart's valley,In the soul's night,Through pain's windowBehold! His light!On Life's Height.No prayer, now,Though death-waves roll,Faith's candle lit,Beside it sits the soulReading Eternity's scroll. SOURCE OF SINGINGA bruised heart,A wounded soul,A broken... more...

CONTENTS OF FIRST LINES: To the Man of the High NorthMy rhymes are rough, and often in my rhyming Men of the High NorthMen of the High North, the wild sky is blazing; The Ballad of the Northern LightsOne of the Down and Out—that's me. Stare at me well, ay, stare! The Ballad of the Black Fox SkinThere was Claw-fingered Kitty and Windy Ike living the life of shame, The Ballad of Pious PeteI tried... more...