A Little Poetry From The Pros

[NewReformation]

Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorites:

ANNABEL LEE

by Edgar Allan Poe

(1849)

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of ANNABEL LEE;--

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

She was a child and I was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love--

I and my Annabel Lee--

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud by night

Chilling my Annabel Lee;

So that her high-born kinsman came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me:--

Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of a cloud, chilling

And killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we--

Of many far wiser than we-

And neither the angels in Heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:--

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,

In her sepulchre there by the sea--

In her tomb by the side of the sea.

[Colleen]

BTW, have you ever read Allen Ginsberg? He wrote very much in the style of Whitman. I have refrained posting some of his poems, because they contain profanity, and some refer to explicity homosexual acts or, at least, infer them.

Also, Thank you Colleen for keeping this thread going

God Bless

I think we might have read one or two of his cleaner poems in high school, but i don't remember exactly.

Colleen,

I shared that poem with a couple of guys here at the seminary and they loved it. I think I found a new poet to learn more about.

Thank You

God Bless

aww, you're welcome! i really like that author, at least i did when i was a little kid. i think he was the one who really got me interested in poetry.

Edited February 20, 2004 by Colleen

[Colleen]

I had to memorize this one in fifth grade:

Can't

Can't is the worst word that's written or spoken;

Doing more harm here than slander and lies;

On it is many a strong spirit broken,

And with it many a good purpose dies.

It springs from the lips of the thoughtless each morning

And robs us of courage we need through the day:

It rings in our ears like a timely sent warning

And laughs when we falter and fall by the way.

Can't is the father of feeble endeavor,

The parent of terror and halfhearted work;

It weakens the efforts of artisans clever,

And makes of the toiler an indolent shirk.

It poisons the soul of the man with a vision,

It stifles in infancy many a plan;

It greets honest toiling with open derision

And mocks at the hopes and the dreams of a man.

Can't is a word none should speak without blushing;

To utter it should be a symbol of shame;

Ambition and courage it daily is crushing;

It blights a man's purpose and shortens his aim.

Despise it with all of your hatred of error;

Refuse it the lodgment it seeks in your brain;

Arm against it as a creature ot terror,

And all that you dream of you someday shall gain.

Can't is the word that is for to ambition,

An enemy ambushed to shatter your will;

Its prey is forever the man with a mission

And bows but to courage and patience and skill.

Hate it, with hatred that's deep and undying,

For once it is welcomed 'twill break any man;

Whatever the goal you are seeking, keep trying

and answer this demon by saying: "I can."

~Edgar A. Guest~

[Colleen]

bump

[Theologian in Training]

Thank you for the bump. I am knee-deep in Pentateuchal studies trying to put together a 5 minute presentation for monday.

Jorge Luis Borges

The Art of Poetry

[Theologian in Training]

Jorge Luis Borges

Browning Decides to Be A Poet

Instants

(There is debate whether or not this poem was actually written by Borges)

[Colleen]

Can't forget Tolkien!

The Bath Song

Hey, it's poetry, too!

[Laudate_Dominum]

This is an old Irish song, I like the lyrics but it's probably better as a song.

Cold blows the wind upon my true love

Soft falls the gentle rain

I never had but one true love

And in Greenwood she lies slain

I'd lose much for my true love

As any young man may

I'll sit and I'll mourn all on your grave

For twelve months and a day

When the twelfth month and a day had passed

The ghost began to speak

"Who is it that sits all on my grave

And will not let me sleep?"

"'Tis I, 'tis I, thine own true love

That sits all on your grave

I ask of one kiss from your sweet lips

And that is all that I crave"

"My lips, they are as clay, my love

My breath is earthy strong

And if you should kiss my clay-cold lips

Your time, 'twould not be long"

"Look down in the yonder garden fair

Love, where we used to walk

The fairest flower that ever bloomed

Has withered and too the stalk"

"The stalk, it has withered and dried, my love

So will our hearts decay

So make yourself content, my love

'Til death calls you away"

[Laudate_Dominum]

Here is another good old Irish song:

Flower of Magherally

One pleasant Summer’s morning, when all the flowers were springing O,

Nature was adorning, and the wee birds sweetly singing O,

I met my love near Banbridge town, my charming blue-eyed Sally O,

She's the queen of the County Down - the flower of Magherally O,

With admiration I did gaze, upon this blue-eyed maiden O,

Adam wasn’t half so much plazed, when he met Eve in Eden O,

Her skin was like the lily white, that grows in yonder valley O,

She's my queen and my heart's delight - the flower of Magherally O,

Her yellow hair in ringlets clung, her shoes were Spanish leather O,

Her bonnet with blue ribbons strung, her scarlet cap and feather O,

Like Venus bright she did appear - my charming blue-eyed Sally O,

She's the girl that I love dear- the flower of Magherally O,

I hope the day will surely come, when we’ll join hands together O,

It's then I'll bring my darling home, in spite of wind or weather O,

And let them all say what they will, and let them reel and rally O,

For I shall wed the girl I love, the flower of Magherally O.

Edited February 23, 2004 by Laudate_Dominum

[Colleen]

oh, Laudate_Dominum, you don't know how much I love irish songs!

Isle of Innisfree

I've met some folks who say that I'm a dreamer,

And I've no doubt there's truth in what they say,

But sure a body's bound to be a dreamer

When all the things he loves are far away.

And precious things are dreams unto an exile

They take him o'er the land across the sea,

Especially when it happens he's an exile

From that dear lovely Isle of Innisfree.

And when the moonlight peeps across the rooftops

Of this great city, wondrous tho' it be,

I scarcely feel its wonder or its laughter

I'm once again back home in Innisfree.

I wander o’er green hills thro’ dreamy valleys

And find a peace no other land could know,

I hear the birds make music fit for angels

And watch the rivers laughing as they flow.

And then into a humble shack I wander

My dear old home, and tenderly behold,

The folks I love around the turf fire gathered

On bended knees their rosary is told.

But dreams don’t last tho’ dreams are not forgotten

And soon I’m back to stern reality,

But, tho’ they paved the footways here with gold dust

I still would choose the Isle of Innisfree.

Edited February 23, 2004 by Colleen

[Laudate_Dominum]

Beautiful Colleen! We should start an Irish thread to just talk about Irish things.

Here's another:

Adieu Lovely Nancy

"Adieu, lovely Nancy, for now I must leave you

To the far-off West Indies I'm bound for to steer

But let my long journey be of no trouble to you

For my love, I'll return in the course of a year"

"Talk not of leaving me here, lovely Jimmy

Talk not of leaving me here on the shore

You know very well your long absence will grieve me

As you sail the wild ocean where the wild billows roar

I'll cut off my ringlets all curly and yellow

I'll dress in the coats of a young cabin boy

And when we are out on that dark, rolling ocean

I will always be near you, my pride and my joy"

"Your lily-white hands, they could not handle the cables

Your lily-white feet to the top mast could not go

And the cold winter storms, well, you could not endure them

Stay at home, lovely Nancy, where the the wild winds won't blow"

As Jimmy set a-sailing, lovely Nancy stood a-wailing

The tears from her eyes in great torrents did a-flow

As she stood on the beach, oh her hands she was wringing

Crying, "Oh and alas, will I e'er see you more?"

As Jimmy was a-walking on the quays of Philadelphia

The thoughts of his true love, they filled him with pride

He said, "Nancy, lovely Nancy, if I had you here, love

How happy I'd be for to make you my bride"

So Jimmy wrote a letter to his own lovely Nancy

Saying, "If you have proved constant, well, I will prove true"

Oh but Nancy was dying, for her poor heart was broken

Oh the day that he left her, forever he'd rue

Come all of you young maidens, I pray, take a warning

And don't trust a sailor boy or any of his kind

For first they will court you and then they'll deceive you

For their love, it is tempestuous as the wavering wind

[Theologian in Training]

Hijacking my thread I see...having fun

So, it occurred to me that in providing links to each and every poem by these poets, on one particular site, I am bogging them down with an excess of bandwidth. I also believe that in quoting the more modern poems on this thread, I am most likely infringing on copyrights. So, now I am at a loss as to what to do. I enjoy "professional poetry," and really like reading it and sharing it with others. However, I am not sure that what I am doing is either legal or moral. Therefore, until I clear this up I will not be providing links to any modern poets as they are probably not for public consumption in the public domain.

That said, I recommend going

here and if you want any recomendations or have questions on certain poems or poets I, or someone else, I am sure, would be glad to help.

God Bless