On A Palmetto
Through all that year-scarred agony of height,
Unblest of bough or bloom, to where expands
His wandy circlet with his bladed bands
Dividing every wind, or loud or light,
To termless hymns of love and old despite,
Yon tall palmetto in the twilight stands,
Bare Dante of these purgatorial sands
That glimmer marginal to the monstrous night.
Comes him a Southwind from the scented vine,
It breathes of Beatrice through all his blades,
North, East or West, Guelph-wind or Ghibelline,
‘Tis shredded into music down the shades;
All sea-breaths, land-breaths, systol, diastol,
Sway, minstrels of that grief-melodious Soul.
Similar poems:
- Tampa Robins The robin laughed in the orange-tree: “Ho, windy North, a fig for thee: While breasts are red and wings are […]...
- Our Hills Dear Mother-Earth Of Titan birth, Yon hills are your large breasts, and often I Have climbed to their top-nipples, fain […]...
- Barnacles My soul is sailing through the sea, But the Past is heavy and hindereth me. The Past hath crusted cumbrous […]...
- The Bee What time I paced, at pleasant morn, A deep and dewy wood, I heard a mellow hunting-horn Make dim report […]...
- Hymns Of The Marshes I. Sunrise. In my sleep I was fain of their fellowship, fain Of the live-oak, the marsh, and the main. […]...
- The Harlequin Of Dreams Swift, through some trap mine eyes have never found, Dim-panelled in the painted scene of Sleep, Thou, giant Harlequin of […]...
- Corn To-day the woods are trembling through and through With shimmering forms, that flash before my view, Then melt in green […]...
- From The Flats What heartache ne’er a hill! Inexorable, vapid, vague and chill The drear sand-levels drain my spirit low. With one poor […]...
- Clover Inscribed to the Memory of John Keats. Dear uplands, Chester’s favorable fields, My large unjealous Loves, many yet one A […]...
- Strange Jokes Well: Death is a huge omnivorous Toad Grim squatting on a twilight road. He catcheth all that Circumstance Hath tossed […]...
- Ode To The Johns Hopkins University How tall among her sisters, and how fair, How grave beyond her youth, yet debonair As dawn, ‘mid wrinkled Matres […]...
- Baby Charley He’s fast asleep. See how, O Wife, Night’s finger on the lip of life Bids whist the tongue, so prattle-rife, […]...
- Jones’s Porvate Argyment That air same Jones, which lived in Jones, He had this pint about him: He’d swear with a hundred sighs […]...
- To Beethoven In o’er-strict calyx lingering, Lay music’s bud too long unblown, Till thou, Beethoven, breathed the spring: Then bloomed the perfect […]...
- The Dying Words Of Stonewall Jackson “Order A. P. Hill to prepare for battle.” “Tell Major Hawks to advance the Commissary train.” “Let us cross the […]...
- The Mocking-Bird Superb and sole, upon a plumed spray That o’er the general leafage boldly grew, He summ’d the woods in song; […]...
- On Huntingdon’s “Miranda” The storm hath blown thee a lover, sweet, And laid him kneeling at thy feet. But, guerdon rich for favor […]...
- A Song Of The Future Sail fast, sail fast, Ark of my hopes, Ark of my dreams; Sweep lordly o’er the drowned Past, Fly glittering […]...
- A Ballad Of The Trees And The Master Into the woods my Master went, Clean forspent, forspent. Into the woods my Master came, Forspent with love and shame. […]...
- A Sea-Shore Grave. To M. J. L By Sidney and Clifford Lanier. O wish that’s vainer than the plash Of these wave-whimsies on the shore: “Give us […]...
- The Revenge Of Hamish It was three slim does and a ten-tined buck in the bracken lay; And all of a sudden the sinister […]...
- Resurrection Sometimes in morning sunlights by the river Where in the early fall long grasses wave, Light winds from over the […]...
- A Dedication. To Charlotte Cushman As Love will carve dear names upon a tree, Symbol of gravure on his heart to be, So thought I […]...
- The Crystal At midnight, death’s and truth’s unlocking time, When far within the spirit’s hearing rolls The great soft rumble of the […]...
- Street Cries Oft seems the Time a market-town Where many merchant-spirits meet Who up and down and up and down Cry out […]...
- To Baynard Taylor To range, deep-wrapt, along a heavenly height, O’erseeing all that man but undersees; To loiter down lone alleys of delight, […]...
- In Absence I. The storm that snapped our fate’s one ship in twain Hath blown my half o’ the wreck from thine […]...
- June Dreams, In January “So pulse, and pulse, thou rhythmic-hearted Noon That liest, large-limbed, curved along the hills, In languid palpitation, half a-swoon With […]...
- A Birthday Song. To S. G For ever wave, for ever float and shine Before my yearning eyes, oh! dream of mine Wherein I dreamed that […]...
- The Tournament Joust First. I. Bright shone the lists, blue bent the skies, And the knights still hurried amain To the tournament […]...