'Heigh, boys!' cried Grandfather Bridgeman, 'it's time before dinner to-day.'
He lifted the crumpled letter, and thumped a surprising 'Hurrah!'
Up jumped all the echoing young ones, but John, with the starch in his throat,
Said, 'Father, before we make noises, let's see the contents of the note.'
The old man glared at him harshly, and twinkling made answer: 'Too bad!
John Bridgeman, I'm always the whisky, and you are the water, my lad!'

Growing In The Vale

© Christina Georgina Rossetti

Growing in the vale

By the uplands hilly,

Glad by Coleman Barks : American Life in Poetry #222 Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate 2004-2006

© Ted Kooser

Coleman Barks, who lives in Georgia, is not only the English language's foremost translator of the poems of the 13th century poet, Rumi, but he's also a loving grandfather, and for me that's even more important. His poems about his granddaughter, Briny, are brim full of joy. Here's one:

Glad

Graves

© Hayden Carruth

Both of us had been close

to Joel, and at Joel’s death

[goes out comes back]

© Kobayashi Issa

Goes out,
comes back
the love life of a cat.

Gay Chaps at the Bar

© Gwendolyn Brooks

This poem originally appeared in the November 1944 issue of Poetry. See it in its original context.

Glory

© Robert Pinsky

Pindar, poet of the victories, fitted names
And legends into verses for the chorus to sing:
Names recalled now only in the poems of Pindar:

Ghost

© Walter de la Mare

'Who knocks? ' 'I, who was beautiful
Beyond all dreams to restore,
I from the roots of the dark thorn am hither,
And knock on the door.'

"Give me October's meditative haze"

© Alfred Austin

Give me October's meditative haze,

Its gossamer mornings, dewy-wimpled eves,

God

I am God—
Without one friend,
Alone in my purity
World without end.

Graciela

© Gary Soto

Wedding night

Graciela bled lightly—

Genesis BK IX

© Caedmon

ll. 438-441) I will let him sit next me, whoever shall return to
hell proclaiming that they have set at naught, by word and deed,
the counsels of the King of heaven and been displeasing to the
Lord."

Greatness

We can be great by helping one another;
We can be loved for very simple deeds;
Who has the grateful mention of a brother
Has really all the honor that he needs.

Gertrude's Prayer

That which is marred at birth Time shall not mend,
Nor water out of bitter well make clean;
All evil thing returneth at the end,
Or elseway walketh in our blood unseen.
Whereby the more is sorrow in certaine-
Dayspring mishandled cometh not againe.