Dictionary Poems

What’s riches to himThat has made a great peacockWith the pride of his eye?The wind-beaten, stone-grey,And desolate Three RockWould nourish his whim.Live he or dieAmid wet rocks and heather,His ghost will be gayAdding feather to featherFor the pride of his eye. – The Peacock by William Butler Yeats

Not heat flames up and consumes,Not sea-waves hurry in and out,Not the air delicious and dry, the air of ripe summer, bears lightly along white down-balls of myriads of seeds,Waited, sailing gracefully, to drop where they may;Not these, O none of these more than the flames of me, consuming, burning for his love whom I … Continued

Oh I am neither rich nor poor, No worker I dispoil;Yet I am glad to be secure From servitude and toil.For with my lifelong savings I Have bought annuity;And so unto the day I die I’ll have my toast and tea. When on the hob the kettle sings I’ll make an amber brew,And crunch my … Continued

Our journey had advanced;Our feet were almost comeTo that odd fork in Being’s road,Eternity by term. Our pace took sudden awe,Our feet reluctant led.Before were cities, but between,The forest of the dead. Retreat was out of hope, —Behind, a sealed route,Eternity’s white flag before,And God at every gate. – THE JOURNEY by Emily Dickinson

——The sky is overcast With a continuous cloud of texture close, Heavy and wan, all whitened by the Moon, Which through that veil is indistinctly seen, A dull, contracted circle, yielding light So feebly spread, that not a shadow falls, Chequering the ground–from rock, plant, tree, or tower. At length a pleasant instantaneous gleam Startles … Continued

LoveIs a ripe plumGrowing on a purple tree.Taste it onceAnd the spell of its enchantmentWill never let you be. LoveIs a bright starGlowing in far Southern skies.Look too hardAnd its burning flameWill always hurt your eyes. LoveIs a high mountainStark in a windy sky.If youWould never lose your breathDo not climb too high. – Love … Continued

When my Sorrow was born I nursed it with care, and watched over itwith loving tenderness. And my Sorrow grew like all living things, strong and beautifuland full of wondrous delights. And we loved one another, my Sorrow and I, and we loved the worldabout us; for Sorrow had a kindly heart and mine was … Continued

High from the earth I heard a bird; He trod upon the treesAs he esteemed them trifles, And then he spied a breeze,And situated softly Upon a pile of windWhich in a perturbation Nature had left behind.A joyous-going fellow I gathered from his talk,Which both of benediction And badinage partook,Without apparent burden, I learned, in … Continued

I went down to the river,I set down on the bank.I tried to think but couldn’t,So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered!I came up twice and cried!If that water hadn’t a-been so coldI might’ve sunk and died. But it was Cold in that water! It was cold! I took the … Continued

You’ll wait a long, long time for anything muchTo happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloudAnd the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch,Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud.The planets seem to interfere in their curvesBut nothing ever happens, no … Continued