"Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns

Read the classic poem "Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns (1759-1796). Happy New Year 2018!

Robert Burns

Scottish poet

The Tenors - "Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns

My Gift: A Pair of Quotations

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise man

I would do my part, --

Yet what I can I give Him,

Give my heart.

-- Christina G. Rossetti, 1872

"Give me thy heart," says the Saviour of men,

Calling in mercy again and again;

"Turn now from sin, and from evil depart,

Have I not died for thee? give me thy heart."

"Give me thy heart, give me thy heart,"

Hear the soft whisper, wherever thou art:

From this dark world He would draw thee apart;

Speaking so tenderly, "Give me thy heart."

-- Eliza E. Hewitt, 1926

An untitled poem by Emily Dickinson on Sabbath keeping

On this day in 1830, American poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. Here is an untitled poem that she wrote about how she kept the Sabbath.

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church --
I keep it, staying at Home --
With a Bobolink for a Chorister --
And an Orchard, for a Dome --

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice --
I just wear my Wings --
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton -- sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman --
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last --
I'm going, all along.

This poem is in the public domain.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

On this day in 1854, according to the Associated Press, "Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous poem, 'The Charge of the Light Brigade,' was published in England."

Read "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson >>

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

English poet;

poet laureate (1850-92)

To the Memory of John Lennon: "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

On this day in 1980, according to the Associated Press, "rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan."

Today I have posted two videos here on my blog, two videos that I dedicate to the memory of John Lennon (1940-1980). The first video is of Josh Groban singing "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," the lyrics of which John Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote. The second video is of Josh Groban talking about the making of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." I hope you will watch both videos.

Watch Josh Groban - "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" >>

Watch Josh Groban - The Making of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" >>

John Lennon in 1969

Josh Groban - "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono [Official Music Video]

Josh Groban - The Making Of “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”

"Rosa Parks" by Nikki Giovanni

On this day in 1955, according to the Associated Press, "Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus; the incident sparked a year-long boycott of the buses by blacks."

African-American poet Nikki Giovanni is the author of a poem titled "Rosa Parks."

Read "Rosa Parks" by Nikki Giovanni >>

Nikki Giovanni

"Dream Song 1" by John Berryman

To read the poem "Dream Song 1" by American poet John Berryman, and to listen to an audio recording of Berryman reading that poem of his, click here.

John Berryman (1914-1972)

Photo Credit: Tom Berthiaume

"Maple Leaf Rag" Played by Scott Joplin (1868-1917)

"Coffle" by Jenn Blair : Flock Literary Journal

According to the Eleventh Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a coffle is "a train of slaves or animals fastened together." The coffle about which American poet Jenn Blair has written in first person in her narrative poem "Coffle" is a train of slaves fastened together (as if the slaves were animals). That poem is in an issue of Flock Literary Journal.

Read "Coffle" by Jenn Blair >>

Photo from Flock Literary Journal

"A psalm of thanks" from the Common English Bible

Today is Thanksgiving Day. Happy Thanksgiving! Here is an exhortation to thanksgiving from the Bible.


A psalm of thanks
from the Common English Bible: Psalm 100

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
   Serve the Lord with celebration!
   Come before him with shouts of joy!
Know that the Lord is God --
   he made us; we belong to him.
   We are his people,
   the sheep of his own pasture.
Enter his gates with thanks;
   enter his courtyards with praise!
   Thank him! Bless his name!
Because the Lord is good,
   his loyal love lasts forever;
   his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.


Copyright 2011 Common English Bible (www.CommonEnglishBible.com). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Except the Lord keep the city,

The watchman waketh but in vain.

-- The Bible: Psalm 127:1

(King James Version)

On this day in 1963, according to the Associated Press, "John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas; Texas Gov. John B. Connally, in the same car as Kennedy, was seriously wounded; a suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president."

The following is a quotation from the address President Kennedy never got to deliver in Dallas on November 22, 1963: "If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be no help."

An observation by Henry David Thoreau on "an evidence of perfect health"

On this day in 1857, Henry David Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

I had yesterday a kink in my back and a general cold, and as usual it amounted to a cessation of life. I lost for the time my rapport or relation to nature. Sympathy with nature is an evidence of perfect health. You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind.

Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

From the Bible: How David Sustained His Faith

HOW DAVID SUSTAINED HIS FAITH
from a Psalm of David in the Bible: Psalm 27:1, 4, 9 (King James Version)

David sustained his faith by the power of God:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

David sustained his faith by his love to the service of God:
One thing have I desired of the Lord,
That will I seek after;
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in his temple.

David sustained his faith by prayer:
Hide not thy face far from me;
Put not thy servant away in anger:
Thou hast been my help;
Leave me not, neither forsake me,
O God of my salvation.

The Seekers sing "Turn, Turn, Turn" (Words adapted by Pete Seeger from Ecclesiastes)

"A season for everything" from the Common English Bible

Here is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 from the Common English Bible.


A season for everything

There's a season for everything
and a time for every matter under the heavens:
a time for giving birth and a time for dying,
a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,
a time for killing and a time for healing,
a time for tearing down and a time for building up,
a time for crying and a time for laughing,
a time for mourning and a time for dancing,
a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,
a time for searching and a time for losing,
a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,
a time for tearing and a time for repairing,
a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,
a time for loving and a time for hating,
a time for war and a time for peace.


Copyright 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation" (Psalm 27:1).

Hymn: "For All the Saints" by William W. How and Ralph Vaughan Williams

"'Think as I think,' said a man," by Stephen Crane

Here is short, untitled poem XLVII from The Black Riders and Other Lines (1895) by Stephen Crane, who was born on this day in 1871 in Newark, New Jersey.


"Think as I think," said a man,
"Or you are abominably wicked;
"You are a toad."

And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad."

Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

"The Great Pumpkin Waltz" from Peanuts Greatest Hits by Vince Guaraldi Trio

"This living hand, now warm and capable" by John Keats

Today is Halloween. Happy Halloween! On this day in 1795, English poet John Keats was born in London. Happy birthday, John Keats! Here is an untitled poem of his that is appropriate for Halloween. It is the last poem that he wrote.

This living hand, now warm and capable
Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold
And in the icy silence of the tomb,
So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights
That thou would wish thine own heart dry of blood
So in my veins red life might stream again,
And thou be conscience-calm'd -- see here it is --
I hold it towards you.

John Keats (1795-1821)

An Observation from the Journal of Henry David Thoreau

"In rough October / Earth must disrobe her," wrote Christina Rossetti in her poem "The Months." On this day in 1858 Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal the following observation about Nature:

Nature now, like an athlete, begins to strip herself in earnest for her contest with her great antagonist Winter. In the bare trees and twigs what a display of muscle!

Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

On this day in 1854, the "Charge of the Light Brigade" took place at Balaklava, on the Black Sea, during the Crimean War as an English brigade of more than 600 men charged the Russian army, suffering heavy losses. It is not known who was responsible for the useless sacrifice. English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson described that charge in his poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1854).

Read "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson >>

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Poet laureate from 1850 to 1892

An Observation from the Journal of Henry David Thoreau

On this day in 1857 Henry David Thoreau wrote the following observation in his journal:

Is not the poet bound to write his own biography? Is there any other work for him but a good journal? We do not wish to know how his imaginary hero, but how he, the actual hero, lived from day to day.

Source: Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (2005), edited by Steve Grant

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

"The Final Say: The Hen and the Golden Eggs" by Monty Gilmer

The following poem, titled "The Hen and the Golden Eggs" (1912), is a fable that William Ellery Leonard adapted from Aesop:

A cottager and wife possessed a Hen

Who laid each day a golden Egg again;

So each one thought that in its fair inside

A lump of gold there surely must abide.

And thus they killed it in the hope of gain,

And found no more than entrails, quite as plain

As fill the insides of all mortal chicks.

The foolish pair were in a silly fix.

And thus 'tis ever with the Get-rich-quicks.

The following quotation is an observation that Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal on October 9, 1860:

This haste to kill a bird or quadruped and make a skeleton of it, which many young men and some old ones exhibit, reminds me of the fable of the man who killed the hen that laid golden eggs, and so got no more gold. It is a perfectly parallel case. Such is the knowledge which you may get from the anatomy as compared with the knowledge you get from the living creature.

"The Final Say: What's Invisible to the Eye" by Monty Gilmer

"The Final Say" is quotations I have paired up for comparison.


"Sometimes the heart sees what's invisible to the eye." So wrote Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892).

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." So wrote Antoine de Saint Exupery (1900-1944).

The Forty-sixth Psalm by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; . . . " So reads Psalm 46:1-2 in the King James Bible. Here, from The Poets' Book of Psalms (1995), edited by Laurance Wieder, is English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge's version of Psalm 46.


THE FORTY-SIXTH PSALM

God is our strength and our refuge: therefore will we not tremble,
Though the earth be removed and though the perpetual mountains
Sink in the swell of the ocean! God is our strength and our refuge.
There is a river the flowing whereof shall gladden the city,
Hallelujah! the city of God! Jehovah shall help her.
The idolaters raged, the kingdoms were moving in fury;
But he uttered his voice: Earth melted away from beneath them.
Hallelujah! The eternal is with us, almighty Jehovah!
Fearful the works of the Lord, yea fearful his desolations;
But he maketh the battle to cease, he burneth the spear and the chariot.
Hallelujah! The eternal is with us, the God of our fathers!

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

"Canticle of Prayer" from the Bible

Here, from the King James Bible, is a poem that I have based on the words of the hymn "Canticle of Prayer" that Alan Luff adapted in 1962 from The Revised Standard Version of the Bible. I have quoted the first, third and fifth stanzas from the King James Version of the epistle of Paul to the Romans. The second and fourth stanzas are bits of poetry by Jesus Christ that I have quoted from the King James Version of the Gospel according to Luke.


CANTICLE OF PRAYER
from the Bible, King James Version:
Romans 8:26; Luke 11:9-10

We know not what we should pray for as we ought:
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
With groanings which cannot be uttered.

Ask, and it shall be given you;
Seek, and ye shall find;
Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

We know not what we should pray for as we ought:
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
With groanings which cannot be uttered.

For every one that asketh receiveth;
And he that seeketh findeth;
And to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

We know not what we should pray for as we ought:
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
With groanings which cannot be uttered.

"Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" by Robert Robinson

"Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, 'Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.'" So reads 1 Samuel 7:12 in the King James Version of the Bible. Robert Robinson (1735-1790) wrote the words of the following hymn in 1758:


COME, THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
   Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
   Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
   Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
   Mount of thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
   Hither by thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
   Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
   Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
   Interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
   Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
   Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
   Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
   Seal it for thy courts above.

Robert Robinson

Related post: Chris Rice sings "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"

Chris Rice - "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" (words by Robert Robinson)

An Old World Blessing (Anonymous)

AN OLD WORLD BLESSING

May there always be work for your hands to do.

May your purse always hold a coin or two.

May the sun shine on your windowpane.

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near you.

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

In the language of flowers,
the symbolic meaning of the chrysanthemum
is cheerfulness.

♫ Enya - "May it be" (lyrics) ♫

Two Poems by F. Scott Fitzgerald

On this day in 1896 American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In This Side of Paradise (1920), the first novel that he wrote, there are "A Poem that Eleanor Sent Amory Several Years Later" and "A Poem Amory Sent to Eleanor and Which He Called 'Summer Storm'." To read the poem that Eleanor sent Amory, click here. To read the poem that Amory sent to Eleanor and which he called "Summer Storm," click here.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

"The Final Say: Labor of Love" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY

by Monty Gilmer

Quotations I have paired up for comparison

   Labor of Love

     Paul wrote, "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election."

     THE BIBLE:

     1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 (King James Version)

     Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.

     HENRY DAVID THOREAU (1817-1862)

     American writer

Henry David Thoreau

"Where Go the Boats?" by Robert Louis Stevenson

Yesterday I posted a video of Jordan Harling reading the classic poem "Paper Boats" by Rabindranath Tagore. That poem is good for children. Here is another poem about boats, a poem from A Child's Garden of Verses (1885) by Robert Louis Stevenson. A Child's Garden of Verses is a small collection of poems evoking the world and feelings of childhood.


WHERE GO THE BOATS?

Dark brown is the river,
   Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
    With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
   Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating --
   Where will all come home?

On goes the river
   And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
   Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
   A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
   Shall bring my boats ashore.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

Scottish author

"Paper Boats" by Rabindranath Tagore | Jordan Harling Reads

"Ave Maria" by Frank O'Hara : Poets.org

To read the poem "Ave Maria" by American poet Frank O'Hara (1926-1966), click here.

Frank O'Hara

Song: "Maria" from West Side Story

"The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll | Jordan Harling Reads

"Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson | Jordan Harling Reads

Quotation from Kurt Vonnegut: "Be soft. . . . "

To read about Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), click here.

"Sleeping on My Side" by Billy Collins : The Atlantic Magazine

American poet Billy Collins's most recent collection is The Rain in Portugal (2016). He served as the U.S. poet laureate from 2001 to 2003. To read his poem "Sleeping on My Side" in the October 2017 issue of The Atlantic, click here.

Billy Collins

(Photo by Steven Kovich)

Quotation: The Hurricane

Here, translated by Alida Malkus, is a quotation from Puerto Rican poet Pales Matos.

When the hurricane unfolds
Its fierce accordion of winds,
On the tip of its toes,
Agile dancer, it sweeps whirling
Over the carpeted surface of the sea
With the scattered branches of the palm.

Three Poems by Henry David Thoreau

Here are three short, untitled poems by American writer Henry David Thoreau. Each of two of these poems contains six words; and each of the lines of the third poem, a twelve-word couplet, is a complete sentence of six words.


Better wait
Than be too late.

     ~

The chicadee
Hops near to me.

     ~

In the East fames are won,
In the West deeds are done.


Source of the three poems: The Complete Poetical Works of Henry David Thoreau (2015), written by Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

To read a biography of Thoreau, click here.

Song ("All day I hear the noise of waters") by James Joyce

The sea has many faces, many moods. Here is an untitled poem about the noise of waters. This poem is a song from Chamber Music (1907), a collection of poems by James Joyce. The sounds of wind and wave in never-ending ebb and flow chill Joyce with sadness.


All day I hear the noise of waters
   Making moan,
Sad as the sea-bird is when, going
   Forth alone,
He hears the winds cry to the water's
   Monotone.

The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing
   Where I go.
I hear the noise of many waters
   Far below,
All day, all night, I hear them flowing
   To and fro.

James Joyce (1882-1941)

To read a biography of Joyce, click here.

"Indeed, Indeed I Cannot Tell" by Henry David Thoreau | Jordan Harling Reads

Untitled poem ("I mark the summer's swift decline") by Henry David Thoreau

Here is an untitled poem from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry David Thoreau (2015), written by Henry David Thoreau.

I mark the summer's swift decline
The springing sward its grave clothes weaves
Whose rustling woods the gales confine
The aged year turns on its couch of leaves.
Oh could I catch the sounds remote
Could I but tell to human ear --
The strains which on the breezes float
And sing the requiem of the dying year.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

American writer

"Love" by Roy Croft

The number 831 is a texting encryption of "I love you": 8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning. Never encrypt or abbreviate your love. Here is a long poem by Roy Croft on love.


LOVE

I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can't help
Dimly seeing there,
And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good,
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.


Source: The Best Loved Poems of the American People (1936), selected by Hazel Felleman

Love is a word formerly used in communications

to represent the letter L.

"'88' Poems" by Richard Brautigan

On this day in 1952, according to the Associated Press, "the composition 4'33" ('Four Minutes, Thirty-three Seconds') by avant-garde composer John Cage premiered in Woodstock, New York, as David Tudor sat down at a piano and, for four minutes and 33 seconds, played . . . nothing."

Here is a blank poem by Richard Brautigan that first appeared in his poetry collection Rommel Drives on Deep into Egypt (1970).


"88" POEMS

Richard Brautigan (1935-1984)

To read a biography of Richard Brautigan, click here.

A poem by Emily Dickinson about a bee and a clover

Here is a short, untitled poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) about a bee and a clover. This poem is in the public domain. It was first published in 1896.

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.

Emily Dickinson

American poet

"The Icehouse in Summer" by Howard Nemerov : The Poetry Foundation

"And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end," saith the Lord.  -- The Bible: Amos 3:15 (King James Version)

To read the poem "The Icehouse in Summer" by Howard Nemerov and to listen to an audio recording of Mr. Nemerov reading that poem of his, click here.

Howard Nemerov (1920-1991)

American poet 

"The Symbolic Life" by Hayan Charara : Poets.org

About his new poem "The Symbolic Life" (2017) Arab-American poet Hayan Charara says, "Apparently, ladybugs will enter houses in cold weather seeking warmth, and though they appear dead, they are hibernating. Sometimes, of course, they are just dead."

To read "The Symbolic Life" by Hayan Charara (born 1972), and to listen to an audio recording of him reading that new poem of his, click here.

"Father Son Haiku" by Kelvin River | Rattle: Poetry

When asked why he likes to write poetry, ten-year-old Kelvin River replied that he wrote his poem "Father Son Haiku" for his fifth grade homework assignment. He said that he likes "making stuff, and using words to make stuff is really interesting and fun." To read "Father Son Haiku" by Kelvin River (age 10), click here.

"Sumter" by Jenn Blair | Rattle: Poetry

Winner of Prize Americana, the collection of poems Malcontent (Press Americana, 2017) by American poet Jenn Blair takes the reader on a journey through American history that is at once fresh, startling and epic in its sweep. To read Jenn Blair's poem "Sumter," one of the poems in Malcontent, click here.

To read more about Malcontent by Jenn Blair and to buy a copy of it, click here.

"The Work of the Holy Spirit": A Poem of Jesus Christ

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
A Poem of Jesus Christ
from the Bible: John 16:4-15 (King James Version)

And these things I told not unto you at the beginning,
Because I was with you.
But now I go my way to him that sent me;
And none of you asketh me,
"Whither goest thou?"
But because I have said these things unto you,
Sorrow hath filled your heart.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth;
It is expedient for you that I go away:
For if I go not away,
The Comforter will not come unto you;
But if I depart,
I will send him unto you.
And when he is come,
He will reprove the world of sin,
And of righteousness, and of judgment:
Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father,
And ye see me no more;
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

I have yet many things to say unto you,
But ye cannot hear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,
He will guide you into all truth:
For he shall not speak of himself;
But whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
And he will show you things to come.
He shall glorify me:
For he shall receive of mine,
And shall show it unto you.
All things that the Father hath are mine:
Therefore said I,
That he shall take of mine,
And shall show it unto you.

An untitled poem by Emily Dickinson about an eclipse

     In her poetic and scientifically illuminating 19th-century guide to viewing a total solar eclipse Mabel Loomis Todd wrote:

A vast, palpable presence seems overwhelming the world. The blue sky changes to gray or dull purple, speedily becoming more dusky, and a death-like trance seizes upon everything earthly.

To read "What to Look for During a Total Solar Eclipse: Mabel Loomis Todd's Poetic 19th-Century Guide to Totality, with Help from Emily Dickinson" by Maria Popova, the founder of Brain Pickings, click here.
     The following is an untitled poem by Emily Dickinson that, as Maria Popova wrote in her aforementioned article, "captures the scintillating surreality of an eclipse in eight perfect lines":

     It sounded as if the Streets were running
     And then -- the Streets stood still --
     Eclipse -- was all we could see at the Window
     And Awe -- was all we could feel.

     By and by -- the boldest stole out of his Covert
     To see if Time was there --
     Nature was in an Opal Apron,
     Mixing fresher Air.

Emily Dickinson

"August" by Celia Thaxter

Here is a short poem, by American writer Celia Thaxter, that is good for children.


AUGUST

Buttercup nodded and said good-by,
   Clover and daisy went off together,
But the fragrant water lilies lie
   Yet moored in the golden August weather.

The swallows chatter about their flight,
   The cricket chirps like a rare good fellow,
The asters twinkle in clusters bright,
   While the corn grows ripe and the apples mellow.


Source: Favorite Poems Old and New (1957), selected for boys and girls by Helen Ferris

Celia Thaxter (1835-1894)

American writer of stories and poems

"A Bird came down the Walk -- " by Emily Dickinson | Jordan Harling Reads

Found poem from "Findings" by Rafil Kroll-Zaidi : Harper's Magazine

Here is a piece of prose that I have formatted as an untitled poem. It is a found poem from "Findings" by Rafil Kroll-Zaidi on page 96 of the September 2017 issue of Harper's Magazine. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi is a contributing editor of Harper's Magazine (Harpers.org).

A snake was seen
regurgitating another snake,
a great horned owl was seen
swimming in a lake,
a mole was found
inside a bass,
and it remained unclear
why bonnethead sharks eat grass.


To read more about the bonnethead shark, click here.

"August 12 in the Nebraska Sand Hills Watching the Perseids Meteor Shower" by Twyla Hansen : Poetry Foundation

The Perseid meteors arrive tonight, but a bright Moon will interfere with good viewing. To read the poem "August 12 in the Nebraska Sand Hills Watching the Perseids Meteor Shower" by American poet Twyla Hansen, click here.

Twyla Hansen 

Poem from Walden by Henry David Thoreau

On this day in 1854, Henry David Thoreau's Walden; or, Life in the Woods, in which Thoreau described his experiences while living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts, was first published. Here is a poem that Thoreau wrote and that he included in that book.

It is no dream of mine,
To ornament a line;
I cannot come nearer to God and Heaven
Than I live to Walden even.
I am its stony shore,
And the breeze that passes o'er;
In the hollow of my hand
Are its water and its sand,
And its deepest resort
Lies high in my thought.

Original title page of Walden featuring a picture

drawn by Thoreau's sister Sophia

To read more about Walden by Henry David Thoreau, click here. 

"Sincerely, the Sky" by David Hernandez : Verse Daily

"Yes, I see you down there / looking up into my vastness." So begins American poet and novelist David Hernandez's poem "Sincerely, the Sky." It is one of the poems in his book Dear, Sincerely (Pitt Poetry Series, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016). To read that poem in its entirety, click here.

David Hernandez (born 1971)

"The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" by Kenneth Grahame

On this day in 1967, according to the Associated Press, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the first Pink Floyd album, was released in the United Kingdom on the Columbia label." The album's title refers to the god Pan as depicted in the book The Wind in the Willows (1908) by Kenneth Grahame.

"The Piper at the Gates of Dawn"

Illustration by Paul Bransom

"The Willow-Wren was twittering his thin little song, hidden himself in the dark selvedge of the river bank." So begins "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," Chapter 7 of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. To read that chapter in its entirety, click here.

To read more about the Pink Floyd album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, click here.

Poem by Emily Dickinson about a summer shower

Here is an untitled poem that American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) wrote about a summer shower. This poem is in the public domain. It was first published in 1890.


A Drop fell on the Apple Tree --
Another -- on the Roof --
A Half a Dozen kissed the Eaves --
And made the Gables laugh --

A few went out to help the Brook
That went to help the Sea --
Myself Conjectured were they Pearls --
What Necklaces could be --

The Dust replaced, in Hoisted Roads --
The Birds jocoser sung --
The Sunshine threw his Hat away --
The Bushes -- spangles flung --

The Breezes brought dejected Lutes --
And bathed them in the Glee --
Then Orient showed a single Flag,
And signed the Fete away --

Emily Dickinson

"The Rain" by W. H. Davies

The Welsh-born William Henry Davies (1871-1940) wrote Wordsworthian nature poems but was more remarkable for the fact that, until he was over thirty, he was a hobo and peddler by choice, the subject of his Autobiography of a Super-tramp (1908). Here is one of the nature poems that he wrote.


THE RAIN
by W. H. Davies

I hear leaves drinking rain;
   I hear rich leaves on top
Giving the poor beneath
   Drop after drop;
'Tis a sweet noise to hear
These green leaves drinking near.

And when the Sun comes out,
   After this Rain shall stop,
A wondrous Light will fill
   Each dark, round drop;
I hope the Sun shines bright;
'Twill be a lovely sight.

W. H. Davies

Untitled poem by James Baldwin (1924-1987) : The Poetry Foundation

"Lord, / when you send the rain / think about it, please, / a little?" So begins an untitled poem by American writer James Baldwin, who was born on this day in 1924. To read that poem in its entirety, click here.

American Tanka, Issue 28 (final issue): "always ready to fly"

Check out the final issue -- Issue 28: "always ready to fly" -- of American Tanka, "Poetry in the Moment," edited by Laura Maffei. To read the 17 poems in that issue, click here.

"Trees" by Joyce Kilmer : Poetry Magazine

On this day in 1913, the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer was first published in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. To read that poem, which is good for children, click here.

"The Voice of the Rain" by Walt Whitman

Here is a poem that Walt Whitman wrote about what he called "the Poem of Earth."


THE VOICE OF THE RAIN

And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed, and yet the same,
I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin and make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
Reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns.)

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

"Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson and Paul Simon

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "'Richard Cory'" is a song written by Paul Simon in early 1965, and recorded by Simon and Garfunkel for their second studio album, Sounds of Silence. The song was based on Edwin Arlington Robinson.s 1897 poem of the same title." Here is that poem.


RICHARD CORY
by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich -- yes, richer than a king --
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935)

American poet,

the author of the poem "Richard Cory"

To listen to the audio recording of Simon and Garfunkel singing Paul Simon's song "Richard Cory," click here.

"the dark tree, the cold sea" by Emily Fragos : Poets.org

"People are curious about the you in 'the dark tree, the cold sea.' It need not be a secret. My beloved sister died young of cancer. It is she to whom I am speaking." So says American poet Emily Fragos. To read her poem "the dark tree, the cold sea" and to listen to an audio recording of her reading that poem, click here.

"Last Night We Saw South Pacific" by James Applewhite : Poets.org

"Last Night We Saw South Pacific" is one of the poems in American poet James Applewhite's book A Diary of Altered Light: Poems, a book that was published in 2006 by Louisiana State University Press. To read that poem, click here.

"The hydrangea blooms

its dry blue, burns a brown lavender."

-- James Applewhite

in his poem "Last Night We Saw South Pacific"

"Buffalo Dusk" by Carl Sandburg

"If it ain't poetry, it's history." So said Carl Sandburg about his poem "Buffalo Dusk." To read that poem and to listen to an audio recording of Carl Sandburg reading that poem of his, click here.

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)