He rose at dawn and, fired with hope,Shot o'er the seething harbour-bar,And reach'd the ship and caught the rope,And whistled to the morning star.And while he whistled long and loudHe heard a fierce mermaiden cry,"O boy, tho' thou are young and proud...
In these rapid, restless shadows,Once I walked at eventide,When a gentle, silent maiden,Walked in beauty at my side.She alone there walked beside meAll in beauty, like a bride.--From "The Village Street" by Edgar Allan PoeIn contrast to Poe's romanti...
Gaily bedight, A gallant knight, In sunshine and in shadow, Had journeyed long, Singing a song, In search of Eldorado.--From "Eldorado" by Edgar Allan PoeI've always enjoyed that poem, and "bedight" is a word we just don't use enough these days. In f...
Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight, Alone and palely loitering?The sedge is withered from the lake, And no birds sing....I saw their starved lips in the gloam, With horrid warning gaped wide,And I awoke and found me here, On the cold hill side.......
They never fail who die In a great cause. The block may soak their gore; Their heads may sodden in the sun; their limbs Be strung to city gates and castle walls; But still their spirit walks abroad. Though years Elapse and others share as dark a doom...
A Whirl-Blast from behind the hillRushed o'er the wood with startling sound;Then—all at once the air was still,And showers of hailstones pattered round.--From "A Whirl-Blast From Behind the Hill" - William WordsworthThe whirl-blast that took me from...
ONCE more the storm is howling, and half hidUnder this cradle-hood and coverlidMy child sleeps on. There is no obstacleBut Gregory's wood and one bare hillWhereby the haystack- and roof-levelling wind.Bred on the Atlantic, can be stayed;And for an ho...
In visions of the dark night I have dreamed of joy departed- But a waking dream of life and light Hath left me broken-hearted.--From "A Dream" by Edgar Allan PoeDreams were a frequent subject for Poe. I believe he had at least four poems with the wor...
Success is counted sweetest By those who ne'er succeed. To comprehend a nectar Requires sorest need.--From "Success is Counted Sweetest - by Emily DickinsonTaste the sweet nectar of victory by getting your short fiction piece in right away. It was du...
The splendour falls on castle wallsAnd snowy summits old in story:The long light shakes across the lakes,And the wild cataract leaps in glory.Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.--From Blow,...