TAME XENIA

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1. Knows how to forget! Knows how to forget! But could It teach it? Easiest of Arts, they say When one learn how Dull Hearts have died In the Acquisition Sacrificed for Science Is common, though, now I went to School But was not wiser Globe did not teach it Nor Logarithm Show “How to forget”! Say some Philosopher! Ah, […]...
2. Drinking Alone I take my wine jug out among the flowers To drink alone, without friends. I raise my cup to entice the moon. That, and my shadow, makes us three. But the moon doesn’t drink, And my shadow silently follows. I will travel with moon and shadow, Happy to the end of spring. When I sing, […]...
3. TO CHARLOTTE ‘MIDST the noise of merriment and glee, ‘Midst full many a sorrow, many a care, Charlotte, I remember, we remember thee, How, at evening’s hour so fair, Thou a kindly hand didst reach us, When thou, in some happy place Where more fair is Nature s face, Many a lightly-hidden trace Of a spirit loved […]...
4. A PLAN THE MUSES ENTERTAINED A PLAN the Muses entertain’d Methodically to impart To Psyche the poetic art; Prosaic-pure her soul remain’d. No wondrous sounds escaped her lyre E’en in the fairest Summer night; But Amor came with glance of fire, The lesson soon was learn’d aright. 1827.*...
5. Three-With the Moon and His Shadow With a jar of wine I sit by the flowering trees. I drink alone, and where are my friends? Ah, the moon above looks down on me; I call and lift my cup to his brightness. And see, there goes my shadow before me. Ho! We’re a party of three, I say,- Though the poor […]...
6. III. THE PARIAH'S THANKS MIGHTY Brama, now I’ll bless thee! ‘Tis from thee that worlds proceed! As my ruler I confess thee, For of all thou takest heed. All thy thousand ears thou keepest Open to each child of earth; We, ‘mongst mortals sunk the deepest, Have from thee received new birth. Bear in mind the woman’s story, Who, […]...
7. Desires that you can only tame to know “Zipless sex” one cynic called This festival of fornication, This celebration of new-found sexual strength And urbane honesty, of sex for sex as sex alone And not a public test of latent puberty. These damsels riding hands and heels Pursue their prey with crop and spur For prizes that are neurons firing salvoes In their […]...
8. To The Students Of The Workers' And Peasants' Faculty So there you sit. And how much blood was shed That you might sit there. Do such stories bore you? Well, don’t forget that others sat before you Who later sat on people. Keep your head! Your science will be valueless, you’ll find And learning will be sterile, if inviting Unless you pledge your intellect […]...
9. I. THE PARIAH'S PRAYER DREADED Brama, lord of might! All proceed from thee alone; Thou art he who judgeth right! Dost thou none but Brahmins own? Do but Rajahs come from thee? None but those of high estate? Didst not thou the ape create, Aye, and even such as we? We are not of noble kind, For with woe […]...
10. Tame Cat It rests me to be among beautiful women Why should one always lie about such matters? I repeat: It rests me to converse with beautiful women Even though we talk nothing but nonsense, The purring of the invisible antennae Is both stimulating and delightful....
11. The Children's Song Puck of Poock’s Hills Land of our Birth, we pledge to thee Our love and toil in the years to be; When we are grown and take our place As men and women with our race. Father in Heaven who lovest all, Oh, help Thy children when they call; That they may build from age […]...
12. THE FROGS A POOL was once congeal’d with frost; The frogs, in its deep waters lost, No longer dared to croak or spring; But promised, being half asleep, If suffer’d to the air to creep, As very nightingales to sing. A thaw dissolved the ice so strong, They proudly steer’d themselves along, When landed, squatted on the […]...
13. THREE PALINODIAS I. “Incense is hut a tribute for the gods, To mortals ’tis but poison.” THE smoke that from thine altar blows, Can it the gods offend? For I observe thou hold’st thy nose Pray what does this portend? Mankind deem incense to excel Each other earthly thing, So he that cannot bear its smell, No […]...
14. TO LIDA THE only one whom, Lida, thou canst love, Thou claim’st, and rightly claim’st, for only thee; He too is wholly thine; since doomed to rove Far from thee, in life’s turmoils nought I see Save a thin veil, through which thy form I view, As though in clouds; with kindly smile and true, It cheers […]...
15. Alone And Drinking Under The Moon Amongst the flowers I Am alone with my pot of wine Drinking by myself; then lifting My cup I asked the moon To drink with me, its reflection And mine in the wine cup, just The three of us; then I sigh For the moon cannot drink, And my shadow goes emptily along With me […]...
16. My Kingdom A little kingdom I possess Where thoughts and feelings dwell, And very hard I find the task Of governing it well; For passion tempts and troubles me, A wayward will misleads, And selfishness its shadow casts On all my words and deeds. How can I learn to rule myself, To be the child I should, […]...
17. Fluttered Wings The splendour of the kindling day, The splendor of the setting sun, These move my soul to wend its way, And have done With all we grasp and toil amongst and say. The paling roses of a cloud, The fading bow that arches space, These woo my fancy toward my shroud, Toward the place Of […]...
18. THE TRAVELLER AND THE FARM~MAIDEN HE. CANST thou give, oh fair and matchless maiden, ‘Neath the shadow of the lindens yonder, Where I’d fain one moment cease to wander, Food and drink to one so heavy laden? SHE. Wouldst thou find refreshment, traveller weary, Bread, ripe fruit and cream to meet thy wishes, None but Nature’s plain and homely dishes, […]...
19. THE WEDDING A FEAST was in a village spread, It was a wedding-day, they said. The parlour of the inn I found, And saw the couples whirling round, Each lass attended by her lad, And all seem’d loving, blithe, and glad; But on my asking for the bride, A fellow with a stare, replied: “‘Tis not the […]...
20. The Cat's Song Mine, says the cat, putting out his paw of darkness. My lover, my friend, my slave, my toy, says The cat making on your chest his gesture of drawing Milk from his mother’s forgotten breasts. Let us walk in the woods, says the cat. I’ll teach you to read the tabloid of scents, To fade […]...
21. SHOULD E'ER THE LOVELESS DAY SHOULD e’er the loveless day remain Obscured by storms of hail and rain, Thy charms thou showest never; I tap at window, tap at door: Come, lov’d one, come! appear once more! Thou art as fair as ever! 1827.*...
22. Sonnets iv THY bosom is endeared with all hearts Which I, by lacking, have supposed dead: And there reigns Love, and all Love’s loving parts, And all those friends which I thought buried. How many a holy and obsequious tear Hath dear religious love stol’n from mine eye, As interest of the dead! which now appear But […]...
23. SONGS SONGS are like painted window-panes! In darkness wrapp’d the church remains, If from the market-place we view it; Thus sees the ignoramus through it. No wonder that he deems it tame, And all his life ’twill be the same. But let us now inside repair, And greet the holy Chapel there! At once the whole […]...
24. Under the Shadow of Kiley's Hill This is the place where they all were bred; Some of the rafters are standing still; Now they are scattered and lost and dead, Every one from the old nest fled, Out of the shadow of Kiley’s Hill. Better it is that they ne’er came back Changes and chances are quickly rung; Now the old […]...
25. THE FOX AND HUNTSMAN HARD ’tis on a fox’s traces To arrive, midst forest-glades; Hopeless utterly the chase is, If his flight the huntsman aids. And so ’tis with many a wonder, (Why A B make Ab in fact,) Over which we gape and blunder, And our head and brains distract. 1821.*...
26. Sonnet On Hearing The Dies Irae Sung In The Sistine Chapel Nay, Lord, not thus! white lilies in the spring, Sad olive-groves, or silver-breasted dove, Teach me more clearly of Thy life and love Than terrors of red flame and thundering. The hillside vines dear memories of Thee bring: A bird at evening flying to its nest Tells me of One who had no place of […]...
27. On Virtue O Thou bright jewel in my aim I strive To comprehend thee. Thine own words declare Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach. I cease to wonder, and no more attempt Thine height t’ explore, or fathom thy profound. But, O my soul, sink not into despair, Virtue is near thee, and with gentle […]...
28. It is not Always May No hay pajaros en los nidos de antano. Spanish Proverb The sun is bright, the air is clear, The darting swallows soar and sing. And from the stately elms I hear The bluebird prophesying Spring. So blue you winding river flows, It seems an outlet from the sky, Where waiting till the west-wind blows, The […]...
29. A Welcome WELCOME, welcome! do I sing, Far more welcome than the spring; He that parteth from you never Shall enjoy a spring for ever. He that to the voice is near Breaking from your iv’ry pale, Need not walk abroad to hear The delightful nightingale. Welcome, welcome, then… He that looks still on your eyes, Though […]...
30. The Promise of the Morning Star Thou father of the children of my brain By thee engendered in my willing heart, How can I thank thee for this gift of art Poured out so lavishly, and not in vain. What thou created never more can die, Thy fructifying power lives in me And I conceive, knowing it is by thee, Dear […]...
31. THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE “THE mountain village was destroy’d; But see how soon is fill’d the void! Shingles and boards, as by magic arise, The babe in his cradle and swaddling-clothes lies; How blest to trust to God’s protection!” Behold a wooden new erection, So that, if sparks and wind but choose, God’s self at such a game must […]...
32. BURIAL To the grave one day from a house they bore A maiden; To the window the citizens went to explore; In splendour they lived, and with wealth as of yore Their banquets were laden. Then thought they: “The maid to the tomb is now borne; We too from our dwellings ere long must be torn, […]...
33. Thee, Thee, Only Thee The dawning of morn, the daylight’s sinking, The night’s long hours still find me thinking Of thee, thee, only thee. When friends are met, and goblets crown’d, And smiles are near, that once enchanted, Unreach’d by all that sunshine round, My soul, like some dark spot, is haunted By thee, thee, only thee. Whatever in […]...
34. THE FAREWELL [Probably addressed to his mistress Frederica.] LET mine eye the farewell say, That my lips can utter ne’er; Fain I’d be a man to-day, Yet ’tis hard, oh, hard to bear! Mournful in an hour like this Is love’s sweetest pledge, I ween; Cold upon thy mouth the kiss, Faint thy fingers’ pressure e’en. Oh […]...
35. THE MAIDEN SPEAKS How grave thou loookest, loved one! wherefore so? Thy marble image seems a type of thee; Like it, no sign of life thou giv’st to me; Compared with thee, the stone appears to glow. Behind his shield in ambush lurks the foe, The friend’s brow all-unruffled we should see. I seek thee, but thou seek’st […]...
36. Amidst the Flowers a Jug of Wine Amidst the flowers a jug of wine, I pour alone lacking companionship. So raising the cup I invite the Moon, Then turn to my shadow which makes three of us. Because the Moon does not know how to drink, My shadow merely follows the movement of my body. The moon has brought the shadow to […]...
37. The Enkindled Spring This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green, Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes, Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes. I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze […]...
38. The Drunkard's Funeral “Yes,” said the sister with the little pinched face, The busy little sister with the funny little tract: – “This is the climax, the grand fifth act. There rides the proud, at the finish of his race. There goes the hearse, the mourners cry, The respectable hearse goes slowly by. The wife of the dead […]...
39. The Subalterns I “Poor wanderer,” said the leaden sky, “I fain would lighten thee, But there are laws in force on high Which say it must not be.” II “I would not freeze thee, shorn one,” cried The North, “knew I but how To warm my breath, to slack my stride; But I am ruled as thou.” […]...
40. To An Unborn Pauper Child Breathe not, hid Heart: cease silently, And though thy birth-hour beckons thee, Sleep the long sleep: The Doomsters heap Travails and teens around us here, And Time-Wraiths turn our songsingings to fear. Hark, how the peoples surge and sigh, And laughters fail, and greetings die; Hopes dwindle; yea, Faiths waste away, Affections and enthusiasms numb: […]...