All Poems
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The Vine & Oak, A Fable
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
He saw her all defenseless lay
To each invading beast a prey,
And wish'd to clasp her in his arms
And bear her far away from harms.
'Twas love -- 'twas tenderness -- 'twas all
That men the tender passion call.
The Procession
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
The legislators pass along
A solemn, self-important throng!
Just raised from the common mass,
They feel themselves another class.
--But let them in the sunshine play
For every dog must have his day.
To the Memory of Sarah Livingston
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
BEYOND where billows roll or tempests vex
Is gone the gentlest of the gentle sex!
---Her brittle bark on life's wild ocean tost
Unequal to the conflict soon was lost.
Account of a Visit From ST. Nicholas
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
"Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
On my Sister Joanna's Entrance into Her 33rd Year
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
On this thy natal day permit a friend -
A brother - with thy joys his own to blend:
In all gladness he would wish to share
As willing in thy griefs a part to bear.
To My Little Niece Sally Livingston
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
To my little niece Sally Livingston, on the death of a little serenading wren she admired.
Hasty pilgrim stop thy pace
Turn a moment to this place
Read what pity hath erected
A Tenant of Mrs. Van Kleeck
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
My very good landlady, Mistress Van Kleeck,
(For the tears that o'erwhelm me I scarcely can speak)
I know that I promis'd you hogs two or three
(But who knows his destiny? Certain not me!)
Acknowledgement
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Then hoops at right angles that hang from ye knees
And hoops at the hips in connection with these
Set the fellows's presumptuous who court an alliance
And ev'ry pretender at awful defiance.
1819 New Year's Carrier's Address
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Believe me, dear patrons, I have wand'red too far,
Without any compass, or planet or star;
My dear native village I scarcely can see
So I'll hie to my hive like the tempest-tost bee.
Dialogue
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
ChildrenPray dearest mother if you please
Cut up your double-curded cheese,
The oldest of the brotherhood.
It's ripe, no doubt and nicely good!
Apostrophe
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Of RISPAH. (who had been the concubine of King SAUL) when DAVID hanged her children, because their father had done amiss.
From morn to eve from eve to rosy morn,
On this bleak rock I'll lay me all forlorn;
Here will I stay, tho' tempests frown around,
The Crane & The Fox, a Fable
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
She came - wide stood the unfolded door
And roses deck'd the sanded floor -
- There hyacinths in festoons hung
- Here lillies their rich fragrance flung -
Epithalamium: A Marriage Poem
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
'Twas summer, when softly the breezes were blowing,
And Hudson majestic so sweetly was flowing,
The groves rang with music & accents of pleasure
And nature in rapture beat time to the measure,
To my little niece Anne Duyckinck, aged 9 years
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
To his charming black-eyed nieceUncle Harry wishest peace!Wishes roses over strow'dO'er her sublunary road!
Acrostic -- Eliza Hughes
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
E v'ry grace in her combine,L ove and truth and friendship join,I n one source without reserve,Z ealous all her friends to serve,A nd diffuse true harmony
The Dance
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Take the name of the swain, a forlorn witless elf
Who was chang'd to a flow'r for admiring himself.
A part deem'd essential in each lady's dress
With what maidens cry when they wish to say yes.
A lullabye carriage, soft, cozy and light
With the name of the Poet who sang on the night.
Hiding Place
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
Hail sov'reign love that first began,
The scheme to rescue fallen man;
Hail matchless, free, eternal grace,
That gave my soul a Hiding-Place.
An Elegy on the Death of Montgomery Tappen
© Major Henry Livingston, Jr.
The sweetest, gentlest, of the youthful train,
Here lies his clay cold upon the sable bier!
He scarce had started on life's varied plain,
For dreary death arrested his career.
The Violent Space (Or When Your Sister Sleeps Around For Money)
© Etheridge Knight
Exchange in greed the ungraceful signs. Thrust
The thick notes between green apple breasts.
Then the shadow of the devil descends,
The violent space cries and angel eyes,
Large and dark, retreat in innocence and in ice.
(Run sister runthe Bugga man comes!)
Dark Prophecy: I Sing Of Shine
© Etheridge Knight
And, yeah brothers
while white America sings about the unsinkable molly brown
(who was hustling the titanic
when it went down)
