An Anniversary

I.

AS flower to sun its drop of dew

Gives from its crystal cup,

So I, as morning gift to you,

This poor verse offer up.

II.

As flowers upon the summer wind

Their air-born odours shake,

So, in all fragrance you may find,

I give but what I take.

III.

My tree blooms green through snow and heat;

Your love is sap and root,-

And this is but the breathing sweet

Of fairest blossom-shoot.

IV.

An outgrowth of the happy days

In wedded lives begun-

Two lives, in all their work and ways,

Indissolubly one.

V.

The force that was to bind us so

We very dimly knew.

Ah, love! it seems so long ago,

And yet the years are few.

VI.

We did not wait for tides to rise,

Nor cared that winds were rough;

They call’d us foolish-we were wise;

God gave us wealth enough.

VII.

He only knows what precious change

We took of Him for gold;

What blessing such a narrow range

Of circumstance can hold.

VIII.

No troubles now could memory spare,

No lightest touch of pain;

No hand experience of care

Would we unlearn again.

IX.

Such love surrounds, such beauty lies

On our most common needs,

As silver hoar-frost glorifies

The wayside sticks and weeds.

X.

All trials that are overpast,

All cares that are to be,

But make more sacred and more fast

The ties ‘twixt you and me.

XI.

They are but clear lights shining through

The mist that round us rolls;

They are but touchstones, fine and true

For fond and faithful souls.

XII.

They are but fires, to cleanse and clean

Our human love from stain;

For naught of sordid, false, or mean

From these blest fires remain.

XIII.

They are but keys within the wards

Of that last, inmost door,

Where the heart’s dearest treasure-hoards

Are garner’d evermore.

XIV.

Ah, dear! our very griefs are glad

Our every cross is crown’d;

We are not able to be sad,

Such comfort wraps us round.

XV.

How calm the haven where we rest,

Now passion’s storms are past!

How warm and soft the little nest

Which shelters us at last!

XVI.

How-blue, pellucid, and divine-

Through all our days and nights,

The clear eyes of our children shine

Like heavenly beacon-lights!

XVII.

We listen to the laughter sweet

Whose echoes come and go,

The music of little feet

That patter to and fro.

XVIII.

And deepest thoughts of God awake,

Who hath reveal’d Him thus,

And, in His goodness, deign’d to make

His own abode with us.

XIX.

To God, in Christ, we kneel to-day

(Whose will on earth be done);

As He hath made us, let us pray

That He will keep us, one.

XX.

Together, may we feel Him stand

About our path and bed;

Together may we, hand in hand,

His royal highway tread.

XXI.

The dear ones He has given, to be

Of His redeem’d the type-

Together, may we live to see

Their budding promise ripe.

XXII.

And, O my dearest! may we lie,

In our last night of rest,

Asleep together, peacefully,

Upon our Father’s breast.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• A Poet by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Meeting With Despair by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Man (In Memory of H. of M.) by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A King’s Soliloquy [On the Night of His Funeral] by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• In A Wood by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• “I Sometimes Think” by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Death-Day Recalled by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Conversation At Dawn by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Confession To A Friend In Trouble by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Commonplace Day by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Circular by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Christmas Ghost Story by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• Amabel by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave? by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• After The Visit by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• After Schiller by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• After A Journey by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• Additions: The Fire at Tranter Sweatley’s by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• “According to the Mighty Working” by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy
• A Wife In London by Thomas Hardy by Thomas Hardy

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works