English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. When Bryan Speaks. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) When Bryan Speaks When Bryan speaks, the town’s a hive. From miles around, the autos drive. The sparrow chirps. The rooster crows. The place is kicking and alive. When Bryan speaks, the bunting glows. The raw procession onward flows. The small dogs […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. How a Little Girl Sang. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) How a Little Girl Sang Ah, she was music in herself, A symphony of joyousness. She sang, she sang from finger tips, From every tremble of her dress. I saw sweet haunting harmony, An ecstasy, an ecstasy, […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Aladdin and the Jinn. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Aladdin and the Jinn ”Bring me soft song,” said Aladdin. ”This tailor-shop sings not at all. Chant me a word of the twilight, Of roses that mourn in the fall. Bring me a song like hashish That will comfort the stale and the […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. A Prayer to All the Dead among Mine Own People. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) A Prayer to All the Dead among Mine Own People Are these your presences, my clan from Heaven? Are these your hands upon my wounded soul? Mine own, mine own, blood of my blood be with me, Fly by my […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Queen of Bubbles. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Queen of Bubbles [Written for a picture] The Youth speaks: —: ”Why do you seek the sun In your bubble-crown ascending? Your chariot will melt to mist. Your crown will have an ending.” The Goddess replies: — […]
English Poetry. Wilfred Owen. A New Heaven. Уилфред Оуэн.
Wilfred Owen (Уилфред Оуэн) A New Heaven Seeing we never found gay fairyland (Though still we crouched by bluebells moon by moon) And missed the tide of Lethe; yet are soon For that new bridge that leaves old Styx half-spanned; Nor ever unto Mecca caravanned; Nor bugled Asgard, […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Booker Washington Trilogy. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Booker Washington Trilogy I. A NEGRO SERMON:—SIMON LEGREE (To be read in your own variety of negro dialect.) Legree’s big house was white and green. His cotton-fields were the best to be seen. He had strong horses and opulent cattle, And […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Black Hawk War of the Artists. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Black Hawk War of the Artists WRITTEN FOR LORADO TAFT’S STATUE OF BLACK HAWK AT OREGON, ILLINOIS To be given in the manner of the Indian Oration and the Indian War-Cry. Hawk of the Rocks, Yours is our cause […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Honor Among Scamps. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Honor Among Scamps We are the smirched. Queen Honor is the spotless. We slept thro’ wars where Honor could not sleep. We were faint-hearted. Honor was full-valiant. We kept a silence Honor could not keep. Yet this late […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be (What Grandpa told the Children) The moon? It is a griffin’s egg, Hatching to-morrow night. And how the little boys will watch With shouting and delight To see him break the shell and stretch And creep across […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Buddha. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Buddha Would that by Hindu magic we became Dark monks of jeweled India long ago, Sitting at Prince Siddartha’s feet to know The foolishness of gold and love and station, The gospel of the Great Renunciation, The ragged […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. King Arthur’s Men Have Come Again. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) * * * [Written while a field-worker in the Anti-Saloon League of Illinois] King Arthur’s men have come again. They challenge everywhere The foes of Christ’s Eternal Church. Her incense crowns the air. The heathen knighthood cower and […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The King of Yellow Butterflies. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The King of Yellow Butterflies (A Poem Game) The King of Yellow Butterflies, The King of Yellow Butterflies, The King of Yellow Butterflies, Now orders forth his men. He says ”The time is almost here When violets bloom again.” Adown the road the […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Darling Daughter of Babylon. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Darling Daughter of Babylon Too soon you wearied of our tears. And then you danced with spangled feet, Leading Belshazzar’s chattering court A-tinkling through the shadowy street. With mead they came, with chants of shame. DESIRE’S red flag before them flew. And Istar’s […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Here’s to the Mice!. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Here’s to the Mice! Written with the hope that the socialists might yet dethrone Kaiser and Czar.) Here’s to the mice that scare the lions, Creeping into their cages. Here’s to the fairy mice that bite The elephants fat and wise: […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Popcorn, Glass Balls, and Cranberries. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Popcorn, Glass Balls, and Cranberries I. THE LION The Lion is a kingly beast. He likes a Hindu for a feast. And if no Hindu he can get, The lion-family is upset. He cuffs his wife and bites her ears Till […]
English Poetry. Wilfred Owen. Exposure. Уилфред Оуэн.
Wilfred Owen (Уилфред Оуэн) Exposure I Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knife us … Wearied we keep awake because the night is silent … Low drooping flares confuse our memory of the salient … Worried by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous, But […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. St. Francis of Assisi. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) St. Francis of Assisi Would I might wake St. Francis in you all, Brother of birds and trees, God’s Troubadour, Blinded with weeping for the sad and poor; Our wealth undone, all strict Franciscan men, Come, let us chant […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Mark Twain and Joan of Arc. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Mark Twain and Joan of Arc When Yankee soldiers reach the barricade Then Joan of Arc gives each the accolade. For she is there in armor clad, today, All the young poets of the wide world say. Which of our freemen […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. A Dirge for a Righteous Kitten. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) A Dirge for a Righteous Kitten To be intoned, all but the two italicized lines, which are to be spoken in a snappy, matter-of-fact way. Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong. Here lies a kitten good, who kept A kitten’s proper place. He stole […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Mysterious Cat. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Mysterious Cat A chant for a children’s pantomime dance, suggested by a picture painted by George Mather Richards. I saw a proud, mysterious cat, I saw a proud, mysterious cat Too proud to catch a mouse or rat— Mew, mew, […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. A Curse for Kings. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) A Curse for Kings A curse upon each king who leads his state, No matter what his plea, to this foul game, And may it end his wicked dynasty, And may he die in exile and black shame. If there is vengeance […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Leaden-Eyed. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Leaden-Eyed Let not young souls be smothered out before They do quaint deeds and fully flaunt their pride. It is the world’s one crime its babes grow dull, Its poor are ox-like, limp and leaden-eyed. Not that they starve; but starve so […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Firemen’s Ball. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Firemen’s Ball SECTION ONE ”Give the engines room, Give the engines room.” Louder, faster The little band-master Whips up the fluting, Hurries up the tooting. He thinks that he stands, [*] The reins in his hands, In the fire-chief’s place […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Chinese Nightingale. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Chinese Nightingale A Song in Chinese Tapestries ”How, how,” he said. ”Friend Chang,” I said, ”San Francisco sleeps as the dead— Ended license, lust and play: Why do you iron the night away? Your big clock speaks with a deadly […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Ghosts in Love. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Ghosts in Love ”Tell me, where do ghosts in love Find their bridal veils?” ”If you and I were ghosts in love We’d climb the cliffs of Mystery, Above the sea of Wails. I’d trim your gray […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Yankee Doodle. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Yankee Doodle This poem is intended as a description of a sort of Blashfield mural painting on the sky. To be sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle, yet in a slower, more orotund fashion. It is presumably an exercise for an entertainment […]
English Poetry. Wilfred Owen. Dulce et Decorum Est. Уилфред Оуэн. Dulce et Decorum est
Wilfred Owen (Уилфред Оуэн) Dulce et Decorum Est Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned out backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Strength of the Lonely. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Strength of the Lonely (What the Mendicant Said) The moon’s a monk, unmated, Who walks his cell, the sky. His strength is that of heaven-vowed men Who all life’s flames defy. They turn to stars or shadows, They go like […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) * * * Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sat gossiping with Robert. (She was really a raving beauty in her day. With Mary Pickford curls in clouds and whirls.) She was trying to think of something nice to say, So she pointed to a page […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Sunshine. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Sunshine FOR A VERY LITTLE GIRL, NOT A YEAR OLD. CATHARINE FRAZEE WAKEFIELD. The sun gives not directly The coal, the diamond crown; Not in a special basket Are these from Heaven let down. The sun gives not directly The plough, […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Hope of the Resurrection. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Hope of the Resurrection Though I have watched so many mourners weep O’er the real dead, in dull earth laid asleep— Those dead seemed but the shadows of my days That passed and left me in the sun’s bright rays. Now though […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. General William Booth Enters into Heaven. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) General William Booth Enters into Heaven [To be sung to the tune of The Blood of the Lamb with indicated instrument] I [Bass drum beaten loudly.] Booth led boldly with his big bass drum – (Are you washed […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Sweet Briars of the Stairways. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Sweet Briars of the Stairways We are happy all the time Even when we fight: Sweet briars of the stairways, Gay fairies of the grime; We, who are playing to-night. ”Our feet are in the gutters, Our […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Prarie Battlements. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Prarie Battlements (To Edgar Lee Masters, with great respect) HERE upon the prarie Is our ancestral hall. Agate is the dome, Cornelian the wall. Ghouls are in the cellar, But fays upon the stairs. And here […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. On the Garden Wall. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) On the Garden Wall OH, once I walked a garden In dreams. ’Twas yellow grass. And many orange-trees grew there In sand as white as glass. The curving, wide wall-border Was marble, like the snow. I walked […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. Genesis. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) Genesis I was but a half-grown boy, You were a girl-child slight. Ah, how weary you were! You had led in the bullock-fight… We slew the bullock at length With knives and maces of stone. And so […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. The Moon is a Painter. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) The Moon is a Painter He coveted her portrait. He toiled as she grew gay. She loved to see him labor In that devoted way. And in the end it pleased her, But bowed him more with care. Her rose-smile showed so […]
English Poetry. Alfred Austin. Pax Britannica. Альфред Остин.
Alfred Austin (Альфред Остин) Pax Britannica Behind her rolling ramparts England lay, Impregnable, and girt by cliff-built towers, Weaving to peace and plenty, day by day, The long-drawn hours. In peace Spring freed her flocks and showered her grain, Summer sate smiling under peaceful leaves, And Autumn […]
English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. A Rhyme About an Electrical Advertising Sign. Вэчел Линдсей.
Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей) A Rhyme About an Electrical Advertising Sign I LOOK on the specious electrical light Blatant, mechanical, crawling and white, Wickedly red or malignantly green Like the beads of a young Senegambian queen. Showing, while millions of souls hurry on, […]