Category: poem

The Tide Rises The Tide Falls ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Tide Rises The Tide Falls
 
 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 The tide rises, the tide falls, 
 The twilight darkens, the curlew calls; 
 Along the sea-sands damp and brown
 The traveler hastens toward the town, 
 And the tide rises, the tide falls. 
 Darkness settles on roofs and walls, 
 But the sea, the sea in darkness calls; 
 The little waves, with their soft, white hands
 Efface the footprints in the sands, 
 And the tide rises, the tide falls. 
 The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
 Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls; 
 The day returns, but nevermore
 Returns the traveler to the shore. 
 And the tide rises, the tide falls.
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Good Luck & Bad ~ Grantland Rice

Good Luck and Bad
 
 Grantland Rice
 
 GOOD Luck is like a down hill tide 
 That helps to make an easy start, 
 Where one may paddle, drift or glide
 Without much effort on his part;
 
 But though it takes you to the goal
 And brings you in the world's acclaim, 
 It builds no fibre for your soul
 Nor molds you for the rougher game. 
 
 Bad Luck is like an uphill sweep,
 The test of courage and of class, 
 Where troubles grow and shadows creep
 And none except the valiant pass ;
 
 Where through raw gales that blow but ill
 The entry clings to this lone dream : 
 The stalwart only stalks the hill
 The gamefish only swims up stream. 

 If your main wish is but to win
 Let Good Luck help to pull you through, 
 To know the cheering and the din
 That go where laurel sprigs are due ;
 
 But if you wish to build a heart
 That scorns the fickle whims of Fate, 
 Take Hard Luck for the journey's start
 With rugged Trouble for a mate. 

A Celtic Prayer

A Celtic Prayer

Deep peace of the
running waves to you.
Deep peace of the
flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the
quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the
shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the
Son of Peace to you.

How Still, How Happy ~ Emily Bronte

How Still, How Happy
 
 Emily Bronte
 
 How still, how happy! Those are words
 That once would scarce agree together;
 I loved the plashing of the surge -
 The changing heaven the breezy weather, 
 
 More than smooth seas and cloudless skies
 And solemn, soothing, softened airs
 That in the forest woke no sighs
 And from the green spray shook no tears. 
 
 How still, how happy! now I feel
 Where silence dwells is sweeter far
 Than laughing mirth's most joyous swell
 However pure its raptures are. 

 Come, sit down on this sunny stone:
 'Tis wintry light o'er flowerless moors -
 But sit - for we are all alone
 And clear expand heaven's breathless shores. 
 
 I could think in the withered grass
 Spring's budding wreaths we might discern;
 The violet's eye might shyly flash
 And young leaves shoot among the fern. 

 It is but thought - full many a night
 The snow shall clothe those hills afar
 And storms shall add a drearier blight
 And winds shall wage a wilder war, 
 
 Before the lark may herald in
 Fresh foliage twined with blossoms fair
 And summer days again begin
 Their glory - haloed crown to wear. 
 
 Yet my heart loves December's smile
 As much as July's golden beam;
 Then let us sit and watch the while
 The blue ice curdling on the stream.

To My Dear & Loving Husband ~ Anne Bradstreet

To My Dear and Loving Husband 

Anne Bradstreet

            IF ever two were one, then surely we.
            If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee.
            If ever wife was happy in a man,
            Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
            I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
            Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
            My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
            Nor ought but love from thee give recompetence.
            Thy love is such I can no way repay.
            The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
            Then while we live, in love let’s so persever
            That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Happiness ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happiness
 

 Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

 Are you seeking for greatness, O brother of mine,
 As the full, fleeting seasons and years glide away?
 If seeking directly and for self alone,
 The true and abiding you never can stay.
 But all self forgetting, know well the law,
 It's the hero, and not the self-seeker, who's crowned.
 Then go lose your life in the service of others,
 And, lo! with rare greatness and glory 'twill abound.

Drinking Alone ~ Li Po

Drinking Alone

 Li Po

 I take my wine jug out among the flowers
 to drink alone, without friends.

 I raise my cup to entice the moon.
 That, and my shadow, makes us three.

 But the moon doesn't drink,
 and my shadow silently follows.

 I will travel with moon and shadow,
 happy to the end of spring.

 When I sing, the moon dances.
 When I dance, my shadow dances, too.

 We share life's joys when sober.
 Drunk, each goes a separate way.

 Constant friends, although we wander,
 we'll meet again in the Milky Way.