by Thomas Nashe Adieu, farewell, life’s bliss; This world uncertain is; Fond are life’s lustful joys; Deathe proves them all but toys; None from his darts can fly; I am sick, I must die. Lord, have mercy on us! Rich men, trust not in wealth; Gold cannot buy you health; Physic himself must fade. AllContinue reading “Litany in Time of Plague”
Tag Archives: poet
And Death Shall Have No Dominion
by Dylan Thomas And death shall have no dominion. Dead men naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they shall go mad they shall be sane, ThoughContinue reading “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”
Poverty
by Thomas Traherne As in the house I sate, Alone and desolate, No creature but the fire and I, The chimney and the stool, I lift mine eye Up to the wall, And in the silent hall, Saw nothing mine, But some few cups and dishes shine, The table and the wooden stools Where peopleContinue reading “Poverty”
First Day at School
by Roger McGough A millionbillionwillion miles from home Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?) Why are they all so big, other children? So noisy? So much at home they Must have been born in uniform Lived all their lives in playgrounds Spent the years inventing games That don’t let me in. GamesContinue reading “First Day at School”
The Flower that Smiles Today
by Percy Shelley The flower that smiles today Tomorrow dies; All that we wish to stay Tempts and then flies; What is this world’s delight? Lightning that mocks the night, Brief even as bright. Virtue how frail it is! Friendship how rare! Love, how it sells poor bliss For proud despair! But we, though soonContinue reading “The Flower that Smiles Today”
The Fall of Slavery
by John Harris Musing, by a mossy fountain, In the blossom month of May, Saw I coming down a mountain An old man whose locks were grey; And the flowery valleys echoed, As he sang his earnest lay. “Prayer is heard, the chain is riven, Shout it over land and sea; Slavery from earth isContinue reading “The Fall of Slavery”
Water Lilies
by A. A. Milne Where the water lilies go To and fro, Rocking in the ripples of the water, Lazy on a leaf lies the Lake King’s daughter, And the faint winds shake her. Who will come and take her? I will! I will! Keep still! Keep still! Sleeping on a leaf lies the LakeContinue reading “Water Lilies”
Just a Social Girl
by Pam Ayres I’m normally a social girl I love to meet my mates But lately with the virus here We can’t go out the gates. You see, we are the ‘oldies’ now We need to stay inside If they haven’t seen us for a while They’ll think we’ve upped and died. They’ll never knowContinue reading “Just a Social Girl”
The Builders
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of Time; Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme. Nothing useless is, or low; Each thing in its place is best; And what seems but idle show Strengthens and supports the rest. For the structure that we raise,Continue reading “The Builders”
The old gods
by Dannie Abse The gods, old as night, don’t trouble us. Poor weeping Venus! Her pubic hairs are grey, and her magic love girdle has lost its spring. Neptune wonders where he has put his trident. Mars is gaga – illusory vultures on the wing. Pluto, exhumed, blinks. My kind of world, he thinks. KidnappingContinue reading “The old gods”
Robin's Nest 