Dictionary Poems

DO not because this day I have grown saturnineImagine that lost love, inseparable from my thoughtBecause I have no other youth, can make me pine;For how should I forget the wisdom that you brought,The comfort that you made? Although my wits have goneOn a fantastic ride, my horse’s flanks are spurredBy childish memories of an … Continued

IF all the gentlest-hearted friends I knowConcentred in one heart their gentleness,That still grew gentler till its pulse was lessFor life than pity,–I should yet be slowTo bring my own heart nakedly belowThe palm of such a friend, that he should pressMotive, condition, means, appliances, My false ideal joy and fickle woe,Out full to light … Continued

In the village churchyard she lies,Dust is in her beautiful eyes, No more she breathes, nor feels, nor stirs;At her feet and at her headLies a slave to attend the dead, But their dust is white as hers. Was she a lady of high degree,So much in love with the vanity And foolish pomp of … Continued

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. Discuss Sun Tzu

Because I’ve come to eighty odd,I must prepare to meet you, God.What should I do? I cannot pray,I have no pious words to say;And though the Bible I might read, Scriptures don’t meet my need. Please tell me God what can I doTo be acceptable to you?I’ve put in order my affairs,And left their portion … Continued

The gentian weaves her fringes,The maple’s loom is red.My departing blossomsObviate parade. A brief, but patient illness,An hour to prepare;And one, below this morning,Is where the angels are. It was a short procession, —The bobolink was there,An aged bee addressed us,And then we knelt in prayer. We trust that she was willing, —We ask that … Continued

A fool with a heart and no brains is just as unhappy as a fool with brains and no heart. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea, ; ; Thy tribute wave deliver: No more by thee my steps shall be, ; ; For ever and for ever. Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea, ; ; A rivulet then a river: Nowhere by thee my steps shall be ; ; For ever and for … Continued

Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends; they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies. Discuss Emily Bronte

You will hear people say that poverty is the best spur to the artist. They have never felt the iron of it in their flesh. They do not know how mean it makes you. It exposes you to endless humiliation, it cuts your wings, it eats into your soul like a cancer. Discuss W. Somerset … Continued