"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.