Nature poems
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A Prayer
© Edgar Albert Guest
God grant me kindly thought
And patience through the day,
And in the things I've wrought
Let no man living say
That hate's grim mark has stained
What little joy I've gained.
The Borough. Letter III: The Vicar--The Curate
© George Crabbe
THE VICAR.
WHERE ends our chancel in a vaulted space,
Animal Tranquility And Decay
© William Wordsworth
The little hedgerow birds,
That peck along the roads, regard him not.
The Stealing Of The Mare - IV
© Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Said the Narrator:
Now when the Princess Alia had made her petition to the Maker of the Heavens, and her deliverance had been wrought by Abu Zeyd with the slaying of her enemies, and he had said to her, ``Return and say no word of this to thy friends,'' she besought him, saying: ``Nay, but by Him who commandeth all power, I will not return home until thou hast told me of thyself, who thou art and of what tribe and nation of the Arabs.'' But he said to her, ``Know, O Lady, that I am of the race of the Jinns and that our people are indeed Muslims obeying the Lord of the Universe, and I was sent to thee from the land of Syria to deliver thee from that traitor, who was of the children of crime.'' But she answered him, ``Yet are not the Jinns of thy quality. Rather tell me the truth. I adjure thee by Him who created thee and in whose shadow thou didst grow up, and who hath wrought blessings through thy hand.'' And being thus adjured he said, ``O Alia, there were peril for me if I told thee truly all.'' But she answered, ``Be not afraid. Though thou wert the Prince Abu Zeyd himself, the Helali, yet shouldst thou have security, ay, even he that great horseman.'' Then said he to her, ``Stretch forth thy hand that we may make a covenant together, so shall God be our witness.'' And she said, ``As thou wilt.'' Then they made them a covenant together in the name of God the Almighty, and their souls were loosed of their burden. And Abu Zeyd spoke to her and told her all, and said, ``It was indeed none other than I that slew thy uncle, nor came I with a better purpose than to steal away that mare.'' And she said, ``Now is my heart light and my trouble ended, and as for the mare, look for her at my hand and not through another road; for my uncle and my people, are they not at thy disposal? And if there hath been evil how shall we take vengeance now, for I and my wealth and my kindred, all that is mine is thine. And thou shalt not find us niggardly of our kindness to thee, nor shall we refuse thee aught, inasmuch as all that I might do for thee, whether I fast or whether I pray, whether I give or whether I bestow, never might I make up to thee for what I have received at thy hand. Therefore shall there evermore be kindness between us. Ay, and if thou be willing, come thou now to our camp.'' But he said to her, ``O Alia, O fairest lady, know that this I cannot do, this I desire not.'' And when Alia heard this word, it deepened her regard for him, and she praised God who had ordered it that she should meet with one so honourable. And she perceived that to one such as was this brave knight she could entrust her soul and all that was hers. And she entreated him, ``Come with me to the tribe.'' But he, ``Never can I come with thee.'' And still she besought him, saying, ``Know this, O Hejazi Salameh, that I will not leave thee here nor depart from thee. And as to the mare, her will I deliver to thee and whatsoever else thou demandest. Nay, though it were my soul I would not deny it.'' But he answered her, ``My mind is changed about the mare, nor would I now take her, for I fear lest they seeking and not finding her should suspect thee, O Alia, and trouble should come to thee of thy father. And have we not the grey mare of Diab with us, the Shohba, whom we may give to the lady, nor run this great risk for her sake?'' But Alia insisting said, ``Nay, that shall not be, nor care I what may come, not though I should taste of the cup of evil things. But if thou wilt not take the mare, then will I kill her and myself with her, and on thy head be it for her and for me.'' And Abu Zeyd consented, saying: ``I will do what thee seemeth good. So may God prosper thy designing.''
And the Narrator returned to his singing of that which happened between the Princess Alia and the Prince Abu Zeyd.
On Hearing that Constantinople Was Swallowed Up by an Earthquake
© Amelia Opie
[A Report, though false, at that time generally believed.]
Prologue
© Oliver Wendell Holmes
A PROLOGUE? Well, of course the ladies know,--
I have my doubts. No matter,--here we go!
A Story Of Doom: Book VII.
© Jean Ingelow
But Noah was seen, for he stood up erect,
And leaned on Japhet's hand. Then, after pause,
The Leader said, "My brethren, it were well
(For naught we fear) to let this sorcerer speak."
And they did reach toward the man their staves,
And cry with loud accord, "Hail, sorcerer, hail!"
A Shower In War-Time
© Sydney Thompson Dobell
Rain, rain, sweet warm rain,
On the wood and on the plain,
And round me like a dropping well,
The great round drops they fell and fell.
Sun And Flesh (Credo In Unam)
© Arthur Rimbaud
The vast heaven is open! the mysteries lie dead
Before erect Man, who folds his strong arms
Among the vast splendour of abundant Nature!
He sings... and the woods sing, the river murmurs
A song full of happiness which rises towards the light!...
- it is Redemption! it is love! it is love!...
A Word To Philosophers
© Christopher Pearse Cranch
COLD philosophers, so apt
With your formulas exacting,
In your problems so enwrapt,
And your theories distracting;
Fanscomb Barn
© Anne Kingsmill Finch
In Fanscomb Barn (who knows not Fanscomb Barn?)
Seated between the sides of rising Hills,
Opvaagnen
© Jens Baggesen
Smil, som jeg vil evig aldrig glemme!
Haandtryk, som jeg død skal end fornemme!
Kys, som druknede min Aand i Gud!
Var I meer end Udspring af det milde
Barnligfromme Hiertes Godheds Kilde?
Var I Nannas Elskovs Sendebud?
Amaryllis
© Thomas Campion
I care not for these ladies that must be wooed and prayed;
Give me kind Amaryllis, the wanton country maid.
Nature Art disdaineth; her beauty is her own.
Her when we court and kiss, she cries: forsooth, let go!
But when we come where comfort is, she never will say no.
To the Memory of My Beloved Author, Mr. William Shakespeare
© Benjamin Jonson
To draw no envy, Shakespeare, on thy name,
Am I thus ample to thy book and fame;
Friendship
© Hartley Coleridge
When we were idlers with the loitering rills,
The need of human love we little noted:
Our love was nature; and the peace that floated
On the white mist, and dwelt upon the hills,
The Question
© Dora Sigerson Shorter
Now here is where I fail to understand,
And put my question in all reverence,
On bended knee with head most lowly bent,
To the All-High, All-Knowing Providence.
A Priest
© Norman Rowland Gale
NATURE and he went ever hand in hand
Across the hills and down the lonely lane;
The Wanderer: A Vision: Canto IV
© Richard Savage
Still o'er my mind wild Fancy holds her sway,
Still on strange visionary land I stray.
Now scenes crowd thick! now indistinct appear!
Swift glide the months, and turn the varying year!
