Others, I Am Not the First
Others, I am not the first,
Have willed more mischief than they durst:
If in the breathless night I too
Shiver now, ’tis nothing new.
More than I, if truth were told,
Have stood and sweated hot and cold,
And through their reins in ice and fire
Fear contended with desire.
Agued once like me were they,
But I like them shall win my way
Lastly to the bed of mould
Where there’s neither heat nor cold.
But from my grave across my brow
Plays no wind of healing now,
And fire and ice within me fight
Beneath the suffocating night.





Related poetry:
- Ice and Fire My love is like to ice, and I to fire: How comes it then that this her cold so great […]...
- Sonnet 30 (Fire And Ice) My love is like to ice, and I to fire: How comes it then that this her cold so great […]...
- Marvel of Marvels MARVEL of marvels, if I myself shall behold With mine own eyes my King in His city of gold; Where […]...
- The Space Heater On the then-below-zero day, it was on, Near the patients’ chair, the old heater Kept by the analyst’s couch, at […]...
- The Owl DOWNHILL I came, hungry, and yet not starved, Cold, yet had heat within me that was proof Against the north […]...
- Sonnet XXX MY loue is lyke to yse, and I to fyre; How comes it then that this her cold so great […]...
- A prayer to the Wind Go thou gentle whispering wind, Bear this sigh; and if thou find Where my cruel fair doth rest, Cast it […]...
- John Donne – The Paradox No Lover saith, I love, nor any other Can judge a perfect Lover; Hee thinkes that else none can, nor […]...
- Take Back the Virgin Page Written on Returning a Blank Book Take back the virgin page, White and unwritten still; Some hand, more calm and […]...
- Heat O wind, rend open the heat, Cut apart the heat, Rend it to tatters. Fruit cannot drop Through this thick […]...
- Some, too fragile for winter winds Some, too fragile for winter winds The thoughtful grave encloses Tenderly tucking them in from frost Before their feet are […]...
- Poor Poet ‘A man should write to please himself,’ He proudly said. Well, see his poems on the shelf, Dusty, unread. When […]...
- A Curse For A Nation I heard an angel speak last night, And he said ‘Write! Write a Nation’s curse for me, And send it […]...
- Unlyric Love Song It is time to give that-of-myself which I could not at first: To offer you now at last my least […]...
- The Appology ‘Tis true I write and tell me by what Rule I am alone forbid to play the fool To follow […]...
- Sonnet 153: Cupid laid by his brand and fell asleep Cupid laid by his brand and fell asleep, A maid of Dian’s this advantage found, And his love-kindling fire did […]...
- Sonnet CLIII Cupid laid by his brand, and fell asleep: A maid of Dian’s this advantage found, And his love-kindling fire did […]...
- Evening Star ‘Twas noontide of summer, And mid-time of night; And stars, in their orbits, Shone pale, thro’ the light Of the […]...
- There Are Not Many Kingdoms Left I write the lips of the moon upon her shoulders. In a Temple of silvery farawayness I guard her to […]...
- Cacoethes Scribendi If all the trees in all the woods were men; And each and every blade of grass a pen; If […]...
- The Maid's Lament I loved him not; and yet, now he is gone, I feel I am alone. I check’d him while he […]...
- It Is Later Than You Think Lone amid the cafe’s cheer, Sad of heart am I to-night; Dolefully I drink my beer, But no single line […]...
- The Oldest Child The night still frightens you. You know it is interminable And of vast, unimaginable dimensions. “That’s because His insomnia is […]...
- Golden Days Another day of toil and strife, Another page so white, Within that fateful Log of Life That I and all […]...
- The Wind of Sorrow The fire of love was burning, yet so low That in the dark we scarce could see its rays, And […]...
- So You Say It is all in the mind, you say, and has Nothing to do with happiness. The coming of cold, The […]...
- With Tears They Buried You Today With tears they buried you to-day, But well I knew no turf could hold Your gladness long beneath the mould, […]...
- Alfonso Churchill They laughed at me as “Prof. Moon,” As a boy in Spoon River, born with the thirst Of knowing about […]...
- Saddest Poem I can write the saddest poem of all tonight. Write, for instance: “The night is full of stars, And the […]...
- I Don't Know If You're Alive Or Dead I don’t know if you’re alive or dead. Can you on earth be sought, Or only when the sunsets fade […]...
- Tonight I Can Write Tonight I can write the saddest lines. Write, for example, ‘The night is starry And the stars are blue and […]...
- Divination By A Daffodil When a daffodil I see, Hanging down his head towards me, Guess I may what I must be: First, I […]...
- Song My silks and fine array, My smiles and languish’d air, By love are driv’n away; And mournful lean Despair Brings […]...
- Anna Who Was Mad Anna who was mad, I have a knife in my armpit. When I stand on tiptoe I tap out messages. […]...
- To Death (From Lenau.) If within my heart there’s mould, If the flame of Poesy And the flame of Love grow cold, […]...
- Amoretti III: The Sovereign Beauty The sovereign beauty which I do admire, Witness the world how worthy to be praised: The light whereof hath kindled […]...
- The Yukoner He burned a hole in frozen muck, He pierced the icy mould, And there in six-foot dirt he struck A […]...
- We talked as Girls do We talked as Girls do Fond, and late We speculated fair, on every subject, but the Grave Of ours, none […]...
- On The Farm There was Dai Puw. He was no good. They put him in the fields to dock swedes, And took the […]...
- Sonnet XXXV: Some, Misbelieving To Miracle Some, misbelieving and profane in love, When I do speak of miracles by thee, May say, that thou […]...