Dictionary Poems

Now dreamsAre not availableTo the dreamers,Nor songsTo the singers. In some landsDark nightAnd cold steelPrevailBut the dreamWill come back,And the songBreakIts jail. – Oppression by Langston Hughes

Just lost when I was saved!Just felt the world go by!Just girt me for the onset with eternity,When breath blew back,And on the other sideI heard recede the disappointed tide! Therefore, as one returned, I feel,Odd secrets of the line to tell!Some sailor, skirting foreign shores,Some pale reporter from the awful doorsBefore the seal! Next … Continued

If I may have it when it’s dead I will contented be;If just as soon as breath is out It shall belong to me, Until they lock it in the grave, ‘T is bliss I cannot weigh,For though they lock thee in the grave, Myself can hold the key. Think of it, lover! I and … Continued

Awake, awake, my little boy!Thou wast thy mother’s only joy;Why dost thou weep in thy gentle sleep?Awake! thy father does thee keep. `O, what land is the Land of Dreams?What are its mountains, and what are its streams?O father! I saw my mother there,Among the lilies by waters fair. `Among the lambs, clothèd in white,She … Continued

Calm is the morn without a sound, ; ; ; ;Calm as to suit a calmer grief, ; ; ; ;And only thro’ the faded leafThe chestnut pattering to the ground:Calm and deep peace on this high wold, ; ; ; ;And on these dews that drench the furze. ; ; ; ;And all the … Continued

To know just how he suffered would be dear;To know if any human eyes were nearTo whom he could intrust his wavering gaze,Until it settled firm on Paradise. To know if he was patient, part content,Was dying as he thought, or different;Was it a pleasant day to die,And did the sunshine face his way? What … Continued

Daily dawns another day;I must up, to make my way.Though I dress and drink and eat,Move my fingers and my feet,Learn a little, here and there,Weep and laugh and sweat and swear,Hear a song, or watch a stage,Leave some words upon a page,Claim a foe, or hail a friend-Bed awaits me at the end. Though … Continued

Felicity, the companion of content, is rather found in our own breasts than in the enjoyment of external things; And I firmly believe it requires but a little philosophy to make a man happy in whatsoever state he is. This consists in a full resignation to the will of Providence. Discuss John Filson

The moon is distant from the sea,And yet with amber handsShe leads him, docile as a boy,Along appointed sands. He never misses a degree;Obedient to her eye,He comes just so far toward the town,Just so far goes away. Oh, Signor, thine the amber hand,And mine the distant sea, —Obedient to the least commandThine eyes impose … Continued

Ask me no more: the moon may draw the sea; ; ; ; ;The cloud may stoop from heaven and take the shape, ; ; ; ;With fold to fold, of mountain or of cape;But O too fond, when have I answer’d thee? ; ; ; ; ; Ask me no more.Ask me no more: … Continued