Dictionary Poems

Said a blade of grass to an autumn leaf, You make such a noisefalling! You scatter all my winter dreams. Said the leaf indignant, Low-born and low-dwelling! Songless,peevish thing! You live not in the upper air and you cannot tellthe sound of singing. Then the autumn leaf lay down upon the earth and slept. And … Continued

And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain. And he said: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep your heart in wonder at … Continued

One spoke: Come, let us gaily goWith laughter, love and lust,Since in a century or soWe’ll all be boneyard dust.When unborn shadows hold the screen,(Our betters, I’ll allow)‘Twill be as if we’d never been,A hundred years from now. When we have played life’s lively gameRight royally we’ll rot,And not a soul will care a damnThe … Continued

Alphonso Rex who died in RomeWas quite a fistful as a kid;For when I visited his home,That gorgeous palace in Madrid,The grinning guide-chap showed me whereHe rode his bronco up the stair. That stairway grand of marbled might,The most majestic in the land,In statured splendour, flight on flight,He urged his steed with whip in hand.No … Continued

Then Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death. And he said: You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. If you would indeed … Continued

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!His underwear is hanging on the lamp.His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.His workbook is wedged in the window,His sweater’s been thrown on the floor.His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,And his pants have been carelessly hung on … Continued

Once a dream did weave a shade O’er my angel-guarded bed, That an emmet lost its way Where on grass methought I lay. Troubled, wildered, and forlorn, Dark, benighted, travel-worn, Over many a tangle spray, All heart-broke, I heard her say: Oh my children! do they cry, Do they hear their father sigh? Now they … Continued

Then said a teacher, Speak to us of Teaching. And he said: No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith … Continued

‘NEVER shall a young man,Thrown into despairBy those great honey-colouredRamparts at your ear,Love you for yourself aloneAnd not your yellow hair.’‘But I can get a hair-dyeAnd set such colour there,Brown, or black, or carrot,That young men in despairMay love me for myself aloneAnd not my yellow hair.’‘I heard an old religious manBut yesternight declareThat he … Continued

No rack can torture me,My soul’s at libertyBehind this mortal boneThere knits a bolder one You cannot prick with saw,Nor rend with scymitar.Two bodies therefore be;Bind one, and one will flee. The eagle of his nestNo easier divestAnd gain the sky,Than mayest thou, Except thyself may beThine enemy;Captivity is consciousness,So’s liberty. – EMANCIPATION by Emily … Continued