"La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad" by John Keats : Poem Guide : Learning Lab : The Poetry Foundation

Read La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad by John Keats : Poem Guide : Learning Lab : The Poetry Foundation ~ This poem by John Keats (1795-1821) was reprinted in The Pocket Mystery Reader (1942), edited by Lee Wright.

English poet John Keats

was born on this day in 1795.

Biography: John Keats (1795-1821) : The Poetry Foundation

Read a biography of English poet John Keats : The Poetry Foundation

John Keats

was born on this day in 1795.

Ezra Pound, born on this day in 1885 : The Poetry Foundation

Read a biography of Ezra Pound : The Poetry Foundation

"A Pact," a poem by Ezra Pound for Walt Whitman / April 1913 : Poetry Magazine

American poet Ezra Pound was born on this day in 1885. Here is a poem that he wrote for American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892).


A PACT
by Ezra Pound (1885-1972)

I have made truce with you, Walt Whitman --
I have detested you long enough.
I come to you as a grown child
Who has had a pig-headed father;
I am old enough now to make friends.
It was you that broke the new wood,
Now is a time for carving.
We have one sap and one root --
Let there be commerce between us.


Source: Poetry: A Magazine of Verse (April 1913)

"I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman : The Poetry Foundation

Read the poem I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman : The Poetry Foundation

"Fools Revert to Their Follies," a cinquain by Monty Gilmer from the Bible

FOOLS REVERT TO THEIR FOLLIES
A cinquain by Monty Gilmer

(From the Bible: Proverbs 26:11 and 2 Peter 2:22)

The dog
Always returns
To his vomit. The sow
Is washed only to wallow in
The mud.

Biography: Sylvia Plath, born on this day in 1932 : The Poetry Foundation

Read a biography of this American poet: Sylvia Plath : The Poetry Foundation

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)

"Poem in October" by Dylan Thomas

Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was born on this day in 1914. Read this poem of his that resulted from his visit on his thirtieth birthday to his boyhood home in Wales: "Poem in October" by Dylan Thomas

"Poem in October" appeared first on pages 257-259 of the February 1945 issue of Poetry Magazine.

In 1953 on his third trip to the United States, Dylan Thomas died suddenly in New York City at the age of thirty-nine.

Advice in Six Words from Robert Frost and from Monty Gilmer

                                   

Never cut what you can untie.

-- Robert Frost

My own advice in six words is published in the new Six Words book The Best Advice in Six Words (2015), edited by Larry Smith. Take my advice:  buy this book!

"The Ball Poem" by John Berryman (born 10/25/1914) : The Poetry Foundation

Read The Ball Poem by John Berryman : The Poetry Foundation

"To Live in the Mercy of God" by Denise Levertov (1923-1997) : The Poetry Foundation

Denise Levertov was born on this day in 1923. Read this poem of hers: To Live in the Mercy of God by Denise Levertov : The Poetry Foundation

Denise Levertov: Essential American Poets / Essential American Poets : The Poetry Foundation

Archival recordings of the poet Denise Levertov (1923-1997). with an introduction to her life and work: Denise Levertov: Essential American Poets / Essential American Poets : The Poetry Foundation ~ Today is the ninety-second anniversary of her birth.

"The Final Say: The Narrow Gate" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY: THE NARROW GATE
by Monty Gilmer

A poem of Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:13-14, from the King James Bible:

Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way,
that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat:
because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it.


A found poem, a quotation from the former President John Adams:

Strait is the gate and narrow is the way
that leads to liberty,
and few nations, if any, have found it.

"Lost Desire" by Meleager : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem by Greek poet Meleager of Gadara, this poem translated by William M. Hardinge: Lost Desire by Meleager : The Poetry Foundation

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (born on this day in 1772) : The Poetry Foundation

Read a biography of Samuel Taylor Coleridge : The Poetry Foundation


AN EPIGRAM
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What is an Epigram? A dwarfish whole,
Its body brevity, and wit its soul.

"The Final Say: The Eighth Commandment" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY: THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT
by Monty Gilmer

"Thou shalt not steal."

-- The Bible: Exodus 20:15

(King James Version)

"The Eighth Commandment was not made for bards."

-- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(born on this day in 1772)


The Final Say
Quotations I have paired up for comparison

"Sir Christopher Wren" (born on this day in 1632)

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
From Biography for Beginners (1905)
by Edmund Clerihew Bentley

Sir Christopher Wren
Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
If anybody calls
Say I am designing St. Paul's."

To read more about Christopher Wren click here.

Christopher Wren (1632-1723)

by Godfrey Kneller, 1711

"What Is the Opposite of Faith?" by Monty Gilmer

WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF FAITH?
by Monty Gilmer

"What's up is faith, what's down is heresy."
So wrote Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

The opposite of up
is down, of course. And yet
is heresy the opposite of faith?

According to Elie Wiesel,
"The opposite of faith
is not heresy, it's indifference."


Copyright 2015 Monty Gilmer

The Final Say

Quotations I have paired up for comparison

"Neighbors in October" by David Baker : The Poetry Foundation

The following poem was reprinted in the November 2009 issue of Reader's Digest:
Neighbors in October by David Baker : The Poetry Foundation

David Baker

"Treasure in Heaven" (2) by Jesus Christ : The King James Bible

TREASURE IN HEAVEN (2)
A poem of Jesus Christ

(Luke 12:33-34, King James Version)

Sell that ye have, and give alms:
Provide yourselves bags which wax not old,
A treasure in the heavens that faileth not,
Where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
For where your treasure is,
There will your heart be also.

"[love is more thicker than forget]" by E. E. Cummings : Poetry Magazine

Read the following poem, and listen to its author read it:
[love is more thicker than forget] by E. E. Cummings : Poetry Magazine

American poet E. E. )Edward Estlin) Cummings was born on this day in 1894>

E. E. Cummings (born 10/14/1894): Essential American Poets / Essential American Poets : The Poetry Foundation

Archival recordings of poet E. E. Cummings, with an introduction to his life and work:
E. E. Cummings: Essential American Poets / Essential American Poets : The Poetry Foundation

"The Final Say: Diligence" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY: DILIGENCE

by Monty Gilmer

The ants are a people not strong,

Yet they prepare their meat in the summer.

-- The Bible: Proverbs 30:25
(King James Version)

It is not enough to be industrious; so are

the ants. What are you industrious about?

-- Henry David Thoreau,
quoted in Reader's Digest (November 2015)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


The Final Say
Quotations I have paired up for comparison

"[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]" by E. E. Cummings : Poetry Magazine

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] by E. E. Cummings : Poetry Magazine

Biography of François Mauriac (born 11 October1885)

"I believe that only poetry counts. A great novelist is first of all a great poet." So said French author Francois Mauriac. Read about him: François Mauriac - Biographical

Francois Mauriac

(1885-1970)

French author

who was awarded

the Nobel Prize for Literature

"Treasure in Heaven" (1) by Jesus Christ : The King James Bible

TREASURE IN HEAVEN (1)
A poem of Jesus Christ

(Matthew 6:19-21, King James Version)

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
Where moth and rust doth corrupt,
And where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
And where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is,
There will your heart be also.

"A Dandelion for My Mother" by Jean Nordhaus : The Poetry Foundation

I hope you will enjoy reading this poem: A Dandelion for My Mother by Jean Nordhaus : The Poetry Foundation

"The Victor Dog" by James Merrill : Poetry Magazine

In the following poem the poet inhabits a dog and listens to his master's voice:
The Victor Dog by James Merrill : Poetry Magazine

James Merrill (1926-1995)

American poet

A quotation from John Lennon, born 75 years ago today

"It's fear of the unknown.

"The unknown is what it is.

And to be frightened of it is

what sends everybody scurrying around

chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate,

all that -- it's all illusion.

Unknown is what it is.

Accept that it's unknown

and it's plain sailing.

"Everything is unknown --

then you're ahead of the game.

That's what it is. Right?"

-- John Lennon (1940-1980),

born 75 years ago today (October 9)

John Lennon
(Photo by Roy Kerwood)

Philip Booth (1925-2007), born 90 years ago today : The Poetry Foundation

Read a biography of
Philip Booth : The Poetry Foundation

A quotation from F. Scott Fitzgerald

 No grand idea was ever born in a conference,

but a lot of foolish ideas have died there.

-- F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

F. Scott Fitzgerald

American writer

Two quotations: Aesop and the Bible on diligence

GO TO THE ANT
from the Bible: Proverbs 6:6-8 (King James Version)

"It is thrifty to prepare today for the
 wants of tomorrow." -- Aesop

Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
Consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide,
Overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer,
And gathereth her food in the harvest.

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem about, among other things, growing old: Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord Tennyson : The Poetry Foundation

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

English poet; poet laureate (1850-92)

A quotation from Woody Guthrie on life

"Life has got a habit of not standing hitched.

You got to ride it like you find it.

You got to change with it."

-- Woody Guthrie (1912-1967),
American folksinger

"A Vagabond Song" by Bliss Carman

Gone are the youthful songs of spring and the languid airs of summer. But autumn, too, has its delights. Here is a poem by Canadian-American poet Bliss Carman about autumn's delights.

A VAGABOND SONG

by Bliss Carman (1861-1929)

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood --

Touch of manner, hint of mood;

And my heart is like a rhyme,

With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry

Of bugles going by.

And my lonely spirit thrills

To see the frosty asters like smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;

We must rise and follow her,

When from every hill of flame

She calls and calls each vagabond by name.

(This poem, which is good for children, is in the public domain.)

Bliss Carman
(Photo by Pirie MacDonald)

"The Truth the Dead Know" by Anne Sexton (1928-1974) : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem: The Truth the Dead Know by Anne Sexton : The Poetry Foundation

American poet Anne Sexton

died, by her own hand,

on this day in 1974.

(Source of photo: The Poetry Foundation)

A quotation from Thomas Wolfe about October

In his novel Of Time and the River (1935) Thomas Wolfe (born on this day in 1900) drew the following word picture of October:

     October is the richest of the seasons. The fields are cut, the granaries are full, the bins are loaded to the brim with fatness, and from the cider press the rich-brown oozings of the York Imperials run. The bee bores to the belly of the yellowed grape. The fly gets old and fat and blue; he buzzes loud, crawls slow. creeps heavily to death on sill and ceiling. The sun goes down in blood and pollen across the bronzed and mown fields of old October.

"October" by Robert Frost : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem about trees in autumn: October by Robert Frost : The Poetry Foundation

Robert Frost (1874-1963)

American poet

Wallace Stevens (born 10/2/1879): Essential American Poets / Essential American Poets : The Poetry Foundation

Wallace Stevens: Essential American Poets / Essential American Poets : The Poetry Foundation
Archival recordings of the poet Wallace Stevens., with an introduction to his life and work

"The Finality of a Poem" by Michael Anania : The Poetry Foundation

The Finality of a Poem by Michael Anania : The Poetry Foundation