Dictionary Poems

I SEE thee better in the dark,I do not need a light.The love of thee a prism beExcelling violet. I see thee better for the yearsThat hunch themselves between,The miner’s lamp sufficient beTo nullify the mine. And in the grave I see thee best–Its little panels beA-glow, all ruddy with the lightI held so high … Continued

O Sorrow, cruel fellowship, ; ; ; ;O Priestess in the vaults of Death, ; ; ; ;O sweet and bitter in a breath,What whispers from thy lying lip?The stars, she whispers, blindly run; ; ; ; ;A web is wov’n across the sky; ; ; ; ;From out waste places comes a cry,And murmurs … Continued

I HEAR the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,Their hoofs heavy with tumult, their eyes glimmering white;The North unfolds above them clinging, creeping night,The East her hidden joy before the morning break,The West weeps in pale dew and sighs passing away,The South is pouring down roses of crimson fire:O vanity of Sleep, Hope, Dream, endless … Continued

I know how father’s strap would feel,If ever I were caught,So mother’s jam I did not steal,Though theft was in my thought.Then turned fourteen and full of pitch,Of love I was afraid,And did not dare to dally withOur pretty parlour maid. And so it is and always was,The path of rectitudeI’ve followed all my life … Continued

Always the same, when on a fated nightAt last the gathered snow lets down as whiteAs may be in dark woods, and with a songIt shall not make again all winter longOf hissing on the yet uncovered ground,I almost stumble looking up and round,As one who overtaken by the endGives up his errand, and lets … Continued

And therefore if to love can be desert,I am not all unworthy. Cheeks as paleAs these you see, and trembling knees that failTo bear the burden of a heavy heart,–This weary minstrel-life that once was girtTo climb Aornus, and can scarce availTo pipe now ‘gainst the valley nightingaleA melancholy music,–why advertTo these things? O Beloved, … Continued

OF Death the sharpest function,That, just as we discern,The Excellence defies us;Securest gathered thenThe fruit perverse to plucking,But leaning to the sightWith the ecstatic limitOf unobtained Delight. – OF Death the sharpest function by Emily Dickinson

You’ve seen balloons set, haven’t you? So stately they ascendIt is as swans discarded you For duties diamond. Their liquid feet go softly out Upon a sea of blond;They spurn the air as ‘t were too mean For creatures so renowned. Their ribbons just beyond the eye, They struggle some for breath,And yet the crowd … Continued

Bob Briggs went in for Government, And helps to run the State;Some day they say he’ll represent His party in debate:But with punk politics his job, I do not envy Bob. Jim Jones went in for writing books, Best sellers were his aim;He’s ten years younger than he looks, And licks the heels of Fame:Though … Continued

Are you the new person drawn toward me?To begin with take warning, I am surely far different from what you suppose;Do you suppose you will find in me your ideal?Do you think it so easy to have me become your lover?Do you think the friendship of me would be unalloy’d satisfaction?Do you think I am … Continued