by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) A lion sunk by time’s decay, Too feeble grown to hunt his prey, Observed his fatal hour draw nigh: He drooped and laid him down to die. There came by chance a savage boar, Who trembled oft to hear him roar, But when he saw him thus distressed He tore andContinue reading “The Sick Lion And The Ass”
Author Archives: Robin
Good And Bad Children
by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Children, you are very little, And your bones are very brittle; If you would grow great and stately, You must try to walk sedately. You must still be bright and quiet, And content with simple diet; And remain, through all bewild’ring, Innocent and honest children. Happy hearts and happy faces,Continue reading “Good And Bad Children”
To Live Merrily, And To Trust To Good Verses
by Robert Herrick (1591-1674) Now is the time for mirth, Nor cheek or tongue be dumb; For with the flow’ry earth The golden pomp is come. The golden pomp is come; For now each tree does wear, Made of her pap and gum, Rich beads of amber here. Now reigns the rose, and now Th’Continue reading “To Live Merrily, And To Trust To Good Verses”
The Destruction of Sennacherib
by Lord Byron (George Gordon) 1788-1824 The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Like the leaves of the forest when Summer isContinue reading “The Destruction of Sennacherib”
Against Evil Company
by Isaac Watts (1674-1728) Why should I join with those in Play, In whom I’ve no delight, Who curse and swear, but never pray, Who call ill Names, and fight. I hate to hear a wanton Song, Their Words offend my ears: I should not dare defile my Tongue With Language such as theirs. AwayContinue reading “Against Evil Company”
“I Said To Love”
by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) I said to Love, “It is not now as in old days When men adored thee and thy ways All else above; Named the the Boy, the Bright, the One Who spread a heaven beneath the sun,” I said to Love. I said to him, “We now know more of theeContinue reading ““I Said To Love””
Happiness
by Wilfred Owen (1893‐1918) Ever again to breathe pure happiness, So happy that we gave away our toy? We smiled at nothings, needing no caress? Have we not laughed too often since with Joy? Have we not stolen too strange and sorrowful wrongs For her hands’ pardoning? The sun may cleanse, And time, and starlight.Continue reading “Happiness”
Kin to Sorrow
by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) Am I kin to Sorrow, That so oft Falls the knocker of my door — Neither loud nor soft, But as long accustomed, Under Sorrow’s hand? Marigolds around the step And rosemary stand, And then comes Sorrow — And what does Sorrow care For the rosemary Or the marigoldsContinue reading “Kin to Sorrow”
Lives
by Derek Mahon (1941-2020) For Seamus Heaney First time out I was a torc of gold And wept tears of the sun. That was fun But they buried me In the earth two thousand years Till a labourer Turned me up with a pick In eighteen fifty-four. Once I was an oar But stuck inContinue reading “Lives”
Though The Last Glimpse Of Erin With Sorrow I See
by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) Though the last glimpse of Erin with sorrow I see, Yet wherever thou art shall seem Erin to me; In exile thy bosom shall still be my home, And thine eyes make my climate wherever we roam. To the gloom of some desert or cold rocky shore, Where the eye ofContinue reading “Though The Last Glimpse Of Erin With Sorrow I See”
Robin's Nest 