[ { "title": "Heroic Stanzas", "author": "John Dryden", "lines": [ "Consecrated to the Glorious Memory of His", "Most Serene and Renowned Highness, Oliver,", "Late Lord Protector of This Commonwealth, etc.", "(Oliver Cromwell)", "", "Written After the Celebration of his Funeral", "", "", "1", "", "And now 'tis time; for their officious haste,", "Who would before have borne him to the sky,", "Like eager Romans ere all rites were past", "Did let too soon the sacred eagle fly.", "", "2", "", "Though our best notes are treason to his fame", "Join'd with the loud applause of public voice;", "Since Heav'n, what praise we offer to his name,", "Hath render'd too authentic by its choice;", "", "3", "", "Though in his praise no arts can liberal be,", "Since they whose Muses have the highest flown", "Add not to his immortal memory,", "But do an act of friendship to their own;", "", "4", "", "Yet 'tis our duty and our interest too", "Such monuments as we can build to raise,", "Lest all the world prevent what we should do", "And claim a title in him by their praise.", "", "5", "", "How shall I then begin, or where conclude", "To draw a fame so truly circular?", "For in a round what order can be shew'd,", "Where all the parts so equal perfect are?", "", "6", "", "His grandeur he deriv'd from Heav'n alone,", "For he was great ere fortune made him so,", "And wars like mists that rise against the sun", "Made him but greater seem, not greater grown.", "", "7", "", "No borrow'd bays his temples did adorn,", "But to our crown he did fresh jewels bring.", "Nor was his virtue poison'd soon as born", "With the too early thoughts of being king.", "", "8", "", "Fortune (that easy mistress of the young", "But to her ancient servant coy and hard)", "Him at that age her favorites rank'd among", "When she her best-lov'd Pompey did discard.", "", "9", "", "He, private, mark'd the faults of others' sway,", "And set as sea-marks for himself to shun,", "Not like rash monarchs who their youth betray", "By acts their age too late would wish undone.", "", "10", "", "And yet dominion was not his design;", "We owe that blessing not to him but Heaven,", "Which to fair acts unsought rewards did join,", "Rewards that less to him than us were given.", "", "11", "", "Our former chiefs like sticklers of the war", "First sought t'inflame the parties, then to poise,", "The quarrel lov'd, but did the cause abhor,", "And did not strike to hurt but make a noise.", "", "12", "", "War, our consumption, was their gainfull trade;", "We inward bled whilst they prolong'd our pain;", "He fought to end our fighting and assay'd", "To stanch the blood by breathing of the vein.", "", "13", "", "Swift and resistless through the land he pass'd", "Like that bold Greek who did the east subdue,", "And made to battles such heroic haste", "As if on wings of victory he flew.", "", "14", "", "He fought secure of fortune as of fame,", "Till by new maps the island might be shown,", "Of conquests which he strew'd where'er he came", "Thick as a galaxy with stars is sown.", "", "15", "", "His palms, though under weights they did not stand,", "Still thriv'd; no winter could his laurels fade;", "Heav'n in his portrait shew'd a workman's hand", "And drew it perfect yet without a shade.", "", "16", "", "Peace was the prize of all his toils and care,", "Which war had banish'd and did now restore;", "Bologna's walls thus mounted in the air", "To seat themselves more surely than before.", "", "17", "", "Her safety rescu'd Ireland to him owes,", "And treacherous Scotland, to no int'rest true,", "Yet bless'd that fate which did his arms dispose", "Her land to civilize as to subdue.", "", "18", "", "Nor was he like those stars which only shine", "When to pale mariners they storms portend;", "He had his calmer influence, and his mien", "Did love and majesty together blend.", "", "19", "", "'Tis true, his count'nance did imprint an awe,", "And naturally all souls to his did bow,", "As wands of divination downward draw", "And points to beds where sov'reign gold doth grow.", "", "20", "", "When past all offerings to Feretrian Jove,", "He Mars depos'd and arms to gowns made yield;", "Successful councils did him soon approve", "As fit for close intrigues as open field.", "", "21", "", "To suppliant Holland he vouchsaf'd a peace,", "Our once bold rival in the British main,", "Now tamely glad her unjust claim to cease", "And buy our friendship with her idol, gain.", "", "22", "", "Fame of th' asserted sea through Europe blown", "Made France and Spain ambitious of his love;", "Each knew that side must conquer he would own,", "And for him fiercely as for empire strove.", "", "23", "", "No sooner was the Frenchman's cause embrac'd", "Than the light monsieur the grave don outweigh'd;", "His fortune turn'd the scale where it was cast,", "Though Indian mines were in the other laid.", "", "24", "", "When absent, yet we conquer'd in his right,", "For though some meaner artist's skill were shown", "In mingling colours, or in placing light,", "Yet still the fair designment was his own.", "", "25", "", "For from all tempers he could service draw;", "The worth of each with its alloy he knew,", "And as the confidant of Nature saw", "How she complexions did divide and brew.", "", "26", "", "Or he their single virtues did survey", "By intuition in his own large breast,", "Where all the rich ideas of them lay,", "That were the rule and measure to the rest.", "", "27", "", "When such heroic virtue Heav'n sets out,", "The stars like Commons sullenly obey,", "Because it drains them when it comes about,", "And therefore is a tax they seldom pay.", "", "28", "", "From this high spring our foreign conquests flow,", "Which yet more glorious triumphs do portend,", "Since their commencement to his arms they owe,", "If springs as high as fountains may ascend.", "", "29", "", "He made us freemen of the continent", "Whom Nature did like captives treat before,", "To nobler preys the English lion sent,", "And taught him first in Belgian walks to roar.", "", "30", "", "That old unquestion'd pirate of the land,", "Proud Rome, with dread the fate of Dunkirk heard,", "And trembling wish'd behind more Alps to stand,", "Although an Alexander were here guard.", "", "31", "", "By his command we boldly cross'd the line", "And bravely fought where southern stars arise,", "We trac'd the far-fetch'd gold unto the mine", "And that which brib'd our fathers made our prize.", "", "32", "", "Such was our prince; yet own'd a soul above", "The highest acts it could produce to show:", "Thus poor mechanic arts in public move", "Whilst the deep secrets beyond practice go.", "", "33", "", "Nor di'd he when his ebbing fame went less,", "But when fresh laurels courted him to live;", "He seem'd but to prevent some new success,", "As if above what triumphs earth could give.", "", "34", "", "His latest victories still thickest came,", "As near the center motion does increase,", "Till he, press'd down by his own weighty name,", "Did, like the vestal, under spoils decrease.", "", "35", "", "But first the ocean as a tribute sent", "That giant prince of all her watery herd,", "And th' isle when her protecting genius went", "Upon his obsequies loud sighs conferr'd.", "", "36", "", "No civil broils have since his death arose,", "But faction now by habit does obey,", "And wars have that respect for his repose,", "As winds for halycons when they breed at sea.", "", "37", "", "His ashes in a peaceful urn shall rest;", "His name a great example stands to show", "How strangely high endeavours may be blest,", "Where piety and valour jointly go." ], "linecount": "190" }, { "title": "Stanzas", "author": "John Keats", "lines": [ "IN a drear-nighted December,", " Too happy, happy tree,", "Thy branches ne'er remember", " Their green felicity:", "The north cannot undo them,", "With a sleety whistle through them;", "Nor frozen thawings glue them", " From budding at the prime.", "", "In a drear-nighted December,", " Too happy, happy brook,", "Thy bubblings ne'er remember", " Apollo's summer look;", "But with a sweet forgetting,", "They stay their crystal fretting,", "Never, never petting", " About the frozen time.", "", "Ah! would 'twere so with many", " A gentle girl and boy!", "But were there ever any", " Writhed not at passed joy?", "To know the change and feel it,", "When there is none to heal it,", "Nor numbed sense to steal it,", " Was never said in rhyme." ], "linecount": "24" }, { "title": "Stanzas to the Rose", "author": "Robinson", "lines": [ "SWEET PICTURE of Life's chequer'd hour!", "Ah, wherefore droop thy blushing head?", "Tell me, oh tell me, hap'less flow'r,", "Is it because thy charms are fled?", "Come, gentle ROSE, and learn from me", "A lesson of Philosophy.", "", "Thy scented buds, LIFE'S joys disclose;", "They strew our paths with magic sweets;", "Where many a thorn like thine, fair ROSE,", "Full oft the weary wand'rer meets;", "And when he sees thy charms depart,", "He feels thy thorn within his heart.", "", "When Morn's bright torch illum'd the sky,", "Vainly thy flaunting buds display'd", "Enamell'd leaves of crimson die,", "Ill-fated blossoms doom'd to fade;", "So 'tis with BEAUTY, hapless flow'r,", "Its lustre blooms but for an hour.", "", "Come blushing ROSE, and on my breast", "Recline thy gentle head, and die;", "Thy scatter'd leaves shall there be press'd,", "Bath'd with a tear from PITY'S eye;", "There shall thy balmy sweets impart", "An essence grateful to my heart.", "", "Thus SYMPATHY, with lenient pow'r,", "Shall bid thy fading charms bestow", "Soft odours for life's happy hour,", "Kind, healing balsam for its woe!", "If such thy virtues, ROSE DIVINE!", "OH ! MAY THY ENVIED FATE BE MINE." ], "linecount": "30" }, { "title": "Stanzas Written under an Oak in Windsor Forest", "author": "Robinson", "lines": [ "\"HERE POPE FIRST SUNG!\" O, hallow'd Tree !", "Such is the boast thy bark displays;", "Thy branches, like thy Patron's lays,", "Shall ever, ever, sacred be;", "Nor with'ring storm, nor woodman's stroke,", "Shall harm the POET'S favourite Oak.", "", "'Twas HERE, he woo'd his MUSE of fire,", "While Inspiration's wond'rous art,", "Sublimely stealing thro' his heart", "Did Fancy's proudest themes inspire:", "'Twas HERE he wisely learnt to smile", "At empty praise, and courtly guile.", "", "Retir'd from flatt'ring, specious arts.", "From fawning sycophants of state,", "From knaves, with ravag'd wealth elate,", "And little SLAVES with TYRANT Hearts;", "In conscious freedom nobly proud,", "He scorn'd the envious, grov'ling crowd.", "", "Tho' splendid DOMES around them rise,", "And pompous TITLES lull to rest", "Each strugg'ling Virtue in the breast,", "'Till POW'R the place of WORTH supplies;", "The wretched herd can never know", "The sober joys these haunts bestow.", "", "Does the fond MUSE delight to dwell,", "Where freezing Penance spreads its shade ?", "When scarce the Sun's warm beams pervade", "The hoary HERMIT'S dreary cell?", "Ah! no­THERE, Superstition blind,", "With torpid languor chills the mind.", "", "Or, does she seek Life's busy scene,", "Ah ! no, the sordid, mean, and proud,", "The little, trifling, flutt'ring crowd,", "Can never taste her bliss serene;", "She flies from Fashion's tinsel toys,", "Nor courts her smile, nor shares her joys.", "", "Nor can the dull pedantic mind,", "E'er boast her bright creative fires;", "Above constraint her wing aspires,", "Nor rigid spells her flight can bind;", "The narrow track of musty schools,", "She leaves to plodding VAPID FOOLS.", "", "To scenes like THESE she bends her way,", "HERE the best feelings of the soul", "Nor interest taints, nor threats controul,", "Nor vice allures, nor snares betray;", "HERE from each trivial hope remov'd,", "Our BARD first sought the MUSE he lov'd.", "", "Still shall thy pensive gloom diffuse,", "The verse sublime, the dulcet song;", "While round the POET'S seat shall throng,", "Each rapture sacred to the MUSE;", "Still shall thy verdant branches be", "The bow'r of wond'rous minstrelsy.", "", "When glow-worms light their little fires,", "The am'rous SWAIN and timid MAID", "Shall sit and talk beneath thy shade,", "AS EVE'S last rosy tint expires;", "While on thy boughs the plaintive DOVE,", "Shall learn from them the tale of LOVE.", "", "When round the quiv'ring moon-beams play,", "And FAIRIES form the grassy ring,", "'Till the shrill LARK unfurls his wing,", "And soars to greet the blushing day;", "The NIGHTINGALE shall pour to THEE,", "Her Song of Love-lorn Melody.", "", "When, thro' the forest dark and drear,", "Full oft, as ancient stories say,", "Old HERNE THE HUNTER i loves to stray,", "While village damsels quake with fear;", "Nor sprite or spectre, shall invade", "The still repose that marks THY shade.", "", "BLEST OAK! thy mossy trunk shall be", "As lasting as the LAUREL'S bloom", "That deck's immortal VIRGIL'S tomb,", "And fam'd as SHAKSPERE'S hallow'd Tree;", "For every grateful MUSE shall twine", "A votive Wreath to deck THY SHRINE." ], "linecount": "78" }, { "title": "Stanzas to a Friend", "author": "Robinson", "lines": [ "AH! think no more that Life's delusive joys,", "Can charm my thoughts from FRIENDSHIP'S dearer claim;", "Or wound a heart, that scarce a wish employs,", "For age to censure, or discretion blame.", "", "Tir'd of the world, my weary mind recoils", "From splendid scenes, and transitory joys;", "From fell Ambition's false and fruitless toils,", "From hope that flatters, and from bliss that cloys.", "", "With THEE, above the taunts of empty pride,", "The rigid frowns to youthful error given;", "Content in solitude my griefs I'll hide,", "Thy voice my counsellor­thy smiles my Heaven.", "", "With thee I'll hail the morn's returning ray,", "Or climb the dewy mountain bleak and cold;", "On the smooth lake observe the sun-beams play,", "Or mark the infant flow'rs their buds unfold.", "", "Pleas'd will I watch the glitt'ring queen of Night", "Spread her white mantle o'er the face of Heaven;", "And from thy converse snatch the pure delight,", "By truth sublime to MENTAL feeling given.", "", "And as the varying seasons glide away,", "This moral lesson shall my bosom learn,", "How TIME steals on, while blissful hours decay", "Like fleeting shadows;­NEVER to return.", "", "And when I see thy warm unspotted mind,", "Torn with the wound of broken FRIENDSHIP'S dart;", "When sickness chills thy breast with pangs unkind,", "Or ruthless sorrow preys upon thy heart;", "", "The task be MINE to soothe thee to repose,", "To check the sigh, and wipe the trickling tear,", "Or with soft SYMPATHY to share thy woes;", "O, proudest rapture of the soul sincere !", "", "And ye who flutter thro' the vacant hour,", "Where tasteless Apathy's empoison'd wand", "Arrests the vagrant sense with numbing pow'r,", "While vanquish'd REASON bows at her command.", "", "O say, what bliss can transient Life bestow,", "What balm so grateful to the social mind,", "As FRIENDSHIP'S voice­where gentle precepts flow", "From the blest source of sentiment refin'd?", "", "When FATE'S stern hand shall close my weeping eye,", "And seal, at length, my wand'ring spirit's doom;", "Oh! may kind FRIENDSHIP catch my parting sigh,", "And cheer with HOPE the terrors of the TOMB." ], "linecount": "44" }, { "title": "Stanzas", "author": "Robinson", "lines": [ "WHEN fragrant gales and summer show'rs", "Call'd forth the sweetly scented flow'rs;", "When ripen'd sheaves of golden grain,", "Strew'd their rich treasures o'er the plain;", "When the full grape did nectar yield,", "In tepid drops of purple hue;", "When the thick grove, and thirsty field,", "Drank the soft show'r and bloom'd a-new;", "O then my joyful heart did say,", "\"Sure this is Nature's Holy-day!\"", "", "But when the yellow leaf did fade,", "And every gentle flow'r decay'd;", "When whistling winds, and drenching rain,", "Swept with rude force the naked plain;", "When o'er the desolated scene,", "I saw the drifted snow descend;", "And sadness darken'd all the green,", "And Nature's triumphs seem'd to end;", "O! then, my mourning heart did say,", "\"Thus Youth shall vanish, Life decay.\"", "", "When Beauty blooms, and Fortune smiles,", "And wealth the easy breast beguiles;", "When pleasure from her downy wings,", "Her soft bewitching incense flings;", "THEN, Friends look kind­and round the heart", "The brightest flames of passion move,", "False Flatt'ry's soothing strains impart", "The warmest Friendship­fondest Love;", "But when capricious FORTUNE flies,", "Then FRIENDSHIP fades;­and PASSION dies." ], "linecount": "30" }, { "title": "Stanzas to a Lady, on Leaving England", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "Tis done--and shivering in the gale", "The bark unfurls her snowy sail;", "And whistling o'er the bending mast,", "Loud sings on high the fresh'ning blast;", "And I must from this land be gone,", "Because I cannot love but one.", "", "But could I be what I have been,", "And could I see what I have seen--", "Could I repose upon the breast", "Which once my warmest wishes blest--", "I should not seek another zone,", "Because I cannot love but one.", "", "'Tis long since I beheld that eye", "Which gave me bliss or misery;", "And I have striven, but in vain,", "Never to think of it again:", "For though I fly from Albion,", "I still can only love but one.", "", "As some lone bird, without a mate,", "My weary heart is desolate;", "I look around, and cannot trace", "One friendly smile or welcome face,", "And ev'n in crowds am still alone,", "Because I cannot love but one.", "", "And I will cross the whitening foam,", "And I will seek a foreign home;", "Till I forget a false fair face,", "I ne'er shall find a resting-place;", "My own dark thoughts I cannot shun,", "But ever love, and love but one.", "", "The poorest, veriest wretch on earth", "Still finds some hospitable hearth,", "Where Friendship's or Love's softer glow", "May smile in joy or soothe in woe;", "But friend or leman I have none,", "Because I cannot love but one.", "", "I go--but wheresoe'er I flee", "There's not an eye will weep for me;", "There's not a kind congenial heart,", "Where I can claim the meanest part;", "Nor thou, who hast my hopes undone,", "Wilt sigh, although I love but one.", "", "To think of every early scene,", "Of what we are, and what we've been,", "Would whelm some softer hearts with woe--", "But mine, alas! has stood the blow;", "Yet still beats on as it begun,", "And never truly loves but one.", "", "And who that dear lov'd one may be,", "Is not for vulgar eyes to see;", "And why that early love was cross'd,", "Thou know'st the best, I feel the most;", "But few that dwell beneath the sun", "Have loved so long, and loved but one.", "", "I've tried another's fetters too,", "With charms perchance as fair to view;", "And I would fain have loved as well,", "But some unconquerable spell", "Forbade my bleeding breast to own", "A kindred care for aught but one.", "", "'Twould soothe to take one lingering view,", "And bless thee in my last adieu;", "Yet wish I not those eyes to weep", "For him that wanders o'er the deep;", "His home, his hope, his youth are gone,", "Yet still he loves, and loves but one.", "", "'To----on Leaving England.'", "", "'The land recedes his Bark is gone,", "Yet still he loves and laves but one.'" ], "linecount": "69" }, { "title": "Stanzas Composed During a Thunderstorm", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "Chill and mirk is the nightly blast,", " Where Pindus' mountains rise,", "And angry clouds are pouring fast", " The vengeance of the skies.", "", "Our guides are gone, our hope is lost,", " And lightnings, as they play,", "But show where rocks our path have crost,", " Or gild the torrent's spray.", "", "Is yon a cot I saw, though low?", " When lightning broke the gloom--", "How welcome were its shade!--ah, no!", " 'Tis but a Turkish tomb.", "", "Through sounds of foaming waterfalls,", " I hear a voice exclaim--", "My way-worn countryman, who calls", " On distant England's name.", "", "A shot is fired--by foe or friend?", " Another--'tis to tell", "The mountain-peasants to descend,", " And lead us where they dwell.", "", "Oh! who in such a night will dare", " To tempt the wilderness?", "And who 'mid thunder-peals can hear", " Our signal of distress?", "", "And who that heard our shouts would rise", " To try the dubious road?", "Nor rather deem from nightly cries", " That outlaws were abroad.", "", "Clouds burst, skies flash, oh, dreadful hour!", " More fiercely pours the storm!", "Yet here one thought has still the power", " To keep my bosom warm.", "", "While wandering through each broken path,", " O'er brake and craggy brow;", "While elements exhaust their wrath,", " Sweet Florence, where art thou?", "", "Not on the sea, not on the sea--", " Thy bark hath long been gone:", "Oh, may the storm that pours on me,", " Bow down my head alone!", "", "Full swiftly blew the swift Siroc,", " When last I pressed thy lip;", "And long ere now, with foaming shock,", " Impelled thy gallant ship.", "", "Now thou art safe; nay, long ere now", " Hast trod the shore of Spain;", "'Twere hard if aught so fair as thou", " Should linger on the main.", "", "And since I now remember thee", " In darkness and in dread,", "As in those hours of revelry", " Which Mirth and Music sped;", "", "Do thou, amid the fair white walls,", " If Cadiz yet be free,", "At times from out her latticed halls", " Look o'er the dark blue sea;", "", "Then think upon Calypso's isles,", " Endeared by days gone by;", "To others give a thousand smiles,", " To me a single sigh.", "", "And when the admiring circle mark", " The paleness of thy face,", "A half-formed tear, a transient spark", " Of melancholy grace,", "", "Again thou'lt smile, and blushing shun", " Some coxcomb's raillery;", "Nor own for once thou thought'st on one,", " Who ever thinks on thee.", "", "Though smile and sigh alike are vain,", " When severed hearts repine,", "My spirit flies o'er Mount and Main,", " And mourns in search of _thine_." ], "linecount": "72" }, { "title": "Stanzas for Music", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "I speak not, I trace not, I breathe not thy name,", "There is grief in the sound, there is guilt in the fame:", "But the tear which now burns on my cheek may impart", "The deep thoughts that dwell in that silence of heart.", "", "Too brief for our passion, too long for our peace,", "Were those hours--can their joy or their bitterness cease?", "We repent, we abjure, we will break from our chain,--", "We will part, we will fly to--unite it again!", "", "Oh! thine be the gladness, and mine be the guilt!", "Forgive me, adored one!--forsake, if thou wilt;--", "But the heart which is thine shall expire undebased", "And _man_ shall not break it--whatever _thou_ mayst.", "", "And stern to the haughty, but humble to thee,", "This soul, in its bitterest blackness, shall be:", "And our days seem as swift, and our moments more sweet,", "With thee by my side, than with worlds at our feet.", "", "One sigh of thy sorrow, one look of thy love,", "Shall turn me or fix, shall reward or reprove;", "And the heartless may wonder at all I resign--", "Thy lip shall reply, not to them, but to _mine_." ], "linecount": "20" }, { "title": "Elegiac Stanzas on the Death of Sir Peter Parker, Bart", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "There is a tear for all that die,", " A mourner o'er the humblest grave;", "But nations swell the funeral cry,", " And Triumph weeps above the brave.", "", "For them is Sorrow's purest sigh", " O'er Ocean's heaving bosom sent:", "In vain their bones unburied lie,", " All earth becomes their monument!", "", "A tomb is theirs on every page,", " An epitaph on every tongue:", "The present hours, the future age,", " For them bewail, to them belong.", "", "For them the voice of festal mirth", " Grows hushed, _their name_ the only sound;", "While deep Remembrance pours to Worth", " The goblet's tributary round.", "", "A theme to crowds that knew them not,", " Lamented by admiring foes,", "Who would not share their glorious lot?", " Who would not die the death they chose?", "", "And, gallant Parker! thus enshrined", " Thy life, thy fall, thy fame shall be;", "And early valour, glowing, find", " A model in thy memory.", "", "But there are breasts that bleed with thee", " In woe, that glory cannot quell;", "And shuddering hear of victory,", " Where one so dear, so dauntless, fell.", "", "Where shall they turn to mourn thee less?", " When cease to hear thy cherished name?", "Time cannot teach forgetfulness,", " While Grief's full heart is fed by Fame.", "", "Alas! for them, though not for thee,", " They cannot choose but weep the more;", "Deep for the dead the grief must be,", " Who ne'er gave cause to mourn before." ], "linecount": "36" }, { "title": "Stanzas to Augusta", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "When all around grew drear and dark,", " And reason half withheld her ray--", "And Hope but shed a dying spark", " Which more misled my lonely way;", "In that deep midnight of the mind,", " And that internal strife of heart,", "When dreading to be deemed too kind,", " The weak despair--the cold depart;", "When Fortune changed--and Love fled far,", " And Hatred's shafts flew thick and fast,", "Thou wert the solitary star", " Which rose and set not to the last.", "Oh! blest be thine unbroken light!", " That watched me as a Seraph's eye,", "And stood between me and the night,", " For ever shining sweetly nigh.", "And when the cloud upon us came,", " Which strove to blacken o'er thy ray--", "Then purer spread its gentle flame,", " And dashed the darkness all away.", "Still may thy Spirit dwell on mine,", " And teach it what to brave or brook--", "There's more in one soft word of thine", " Than in the world's defied rebuke.", "Thou stood'st, as stands a lovely tree,", " That still unbroke, though gently bent,", "Still waves with fond fidelity", " Its boughs above a monument.", "The winds might rend--the skies might pour,", " But there thou wert--and still wouldst be", "Devoted in the stormiest hour", " To shed thy weeping leaves o'er me.", "But thou and thine shall know no blight,", " Whatever fate on me may fall;", "For Heaven in sunshine will requite", " The kind--and thee the most of all.", "Then let the ties of baffled love", " Be broken--thine will never break;", "Thy heart can feel--but will not move;", " Thy soul, though soft, will never shake.", "And these, when all was lost beside,", " Were found and still are fixed in thee:--", "And bearing still a breast so tried,", " Earth is no desert--ev'n to me." ], "linecount": "44" }, { "title": "Stanzas to Augusta", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "Though the day of my Destiny's over,", " And the star of my Fate hath declined,", "Thy soft heart refused to discover", " The faults which so many could find;", "Though thy Soul with my grief was acquainted,", " It shrunk not to share it with me,", "And the Love which my Spirit hath painted", " It never hath found but in _Thee_.", "", "Then when Nature around me is smiling,", " The last smile which answers to mine,", "I do not believe it beguiling,", " Because it reminds me of thine;", "And when winds are at war with the ocean,", " As the breasts I believed in with me,", "If their billows excite an emotion,", " It is that they bear me from _Thee._", "", "Though the rock of my last Hope is shivered,", " And its fragments are sunk in the wave,", "Though I feel that my soul is delivered", " To Pain--it shall not be its slave.", "There is many a pang to pursue me:", " They may crush, but they shall not contemn;", "They may torture, but shall not subdue me;", " 'Tis of _Thee_ that I think--not of them.", "", "Though human, thou didst not deceive me,", " Though woman, thou didst not forsake,", "Though loved, thou forborest to grieve me,", " Though slandered, thou never couldst shake;", "Though trusted, thou didst not disclaim me,", " Though parted, it was not to fly,", "Though watchful, 'twas not to defame me,", " Nor, mute, that the world might belie.", "", "Yet I blame not the World, nor despise it,", " Nor the war of the many with one;", "If my Soul was not fitted to prize it,", " 'Twas folly not sooner to shun:", "And if dearly that error hath cost me,", " And more than I once could foresee,", "I have found that, whatever it lost me,", " It could not deprive me of _Thee_.", "", "From the wreck of the past, which hath perished,", " Thus much I at least may recall,", "It hath taught me that what I most cherished", " Deserved to be dearest of all:", "In the Desert a fountain is springing,", " In the wide waste there still is a tree,", "And a bird in the solitude singing,", " Which speaks to my spirit of _Thee_." ], "linecount": "48" }, { "title": "Stanzas to the Po", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "River, that rollest by the ancient walls,", " Where dwells the Lady of my love, when she", "Walks by thy brink, and there perchance recalls", " A faint and fleeting memory of me:", "", "What if thy deep and ample stream should be", " A mirror of my heart, where she may read", "The thousand thoughts I now betray to thee,", " Wild as thy wave, and headlong as thy speed!", "", "What do I say--a mirror of my heart?", " Are not thy waters sweeping, dark, and strong?", "Such as my feelings were and are, thou art;", " And such as thou art were my passions long.", "", "Time may have somewhat tamed them,--not for ever;", " Thou overflow'st thy banks, and not for aye", "Thy bosom overboils, congenial river!", " Thy floods subside, and mine have sunk away:", "", "But left long wrecks behind, and now again,", " Borne in our old unchanged career, we move:", "Thou tendest wildly onwards to the main,", " And I--to loving _one_ I should not love.", "", "The current I behold will sweep beneath", " Her native walls, and murmur at her feet;", "Her eyes will look on thee, when she shall breathe", " The twilight air, unharmed by summer's heat.", "", "She will look on thee,--I have looked on thee,", " Full of that thought: and, from that moment, ne'er", "Thy waters could I dream of, name, or see,", " Without the inseparable sigh for her!", "", "Her bright eyes will be imaged in thy stream,--", " Yes! they will meet the wave I gaze on now:", "Mine cannot witness, even in a dream,", " That happy wave repass me in its flow!", "", "The wave that bears my tears returns no more:", " Will she return by whom that wave shall sweep?--", "Both tread thy banks, both wander on thy shore,", " I by thy source, she by the dark-blue deep.", "", "But that which keepeth us apart is not", " Distance, nor depth of wave, nor space of earth,", "But the distraction of a various lot,", " As various as the climates of our birth.", "", "A stranger loves the Lady of the land,", " Born far beyond the mountains, but his blood", "Is all meridian, as if never fanned", " By the black wind that chills the polar flood.", "", "My blood is all meridian; were it not,", " I had not left my clime, nor should I be,", "In spite of tortures, ne'er to be forgot,", " A slave again of love,--at least of thee.", "", "'Tis vain to struggle--let me perish young--", " Live as I lived, and love as I have loved;", "To dust if I return, from dust I sprung,", " And then, at least, my heart can ne'er be moved." ], "linecount": "52" }, { "title": "Stanzas Written on the Road between Florence and Pisa", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "Oh, talk not to me of a name great in story--", "The days of our Youth are the days of our glory;", "And the myrtle and ivy of sweet two-and-twenty", "Are worth all your laurels, though ever so plenty.", "", "What are garlands and crowns to the brow that is wrinkled?", "Tis but as a dead flower with May-dew besprinkled:", "Then away with all such from the head that is hoary,", "What care I for the wreaths that can _only_ give glory?", "", "Oh Fame!--if I e'er took delight in thy praises,", "'Twas less for the sake of thy high-sounding phrases,", "Than to see the bright eyes of the dear One discover,", "She thought that I was not unworthy to love her.", "", "_There_ chiefly I sought thee, _there_ only I found thee;", "Her Glance was the best of the rays that surround thee,", "When it sparkled o'er aught that was bright in my story,", "I knew it was Love, and I felt it was Glory." ], "linecount": "16" }, { "title": "Stanzas to a Hindoo Air", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ " Oh! my lonely--lonely--lonely--Pillow!", "Where is my lover? where is my lover?", "Is it his bark which my dreary dreams discover?", " Far--far away! and alone along the billow?", "", " Oh! my lonely--lonely--lonely--Pillow!", "Why must my head ache where his gentle brow lay?", "How the long night flags lovelessly and slowly,", " And my head droops over thee like the willow!", "", " Oh! thou, my sad and solitary Pillow!", "Send me kind dreams to keep my heart from breaking,", "In return for the tears I shed upon thee waking;", " Let me not die till he comes back o'er the billow.", "", " Then if thou wilt--no more my _lonely_ Pillow,", "In one embrace let these arms again enfold him,", "And then expire of the joy--but to behold him!", " Oh! my lone bosom!--oh! my lonely Pillow!" ], "linecount": "16" }, { "title": "Stanzas", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "WHEN a man hath no freedom to fight for at home,", " Let him combat for that of his neighbours;", "Let him think of the glories of Greece and of Rome,", " And get knocked on the head for his labours.", "", "To do good to Mankind is the chivalrous plan,", " And is always as nobly requited;", "Then battle for Freedom wherever you can,", " And, if not shot or hanged, you'll get knighted." ], "linecount": "8" }, { "title": "92. Suppressed Stanzas of “The Vision”", "author": "Robert Burns", "lines": [ "WITH secret throes I marked that earth,", "That cottage, witness of my birth;", "And near I saw, bold issuing forth", " In youthful pride,", "A Lindsay race of noble worth,", " Famed far and wide.", "", "", "Where, hid behind a spreading wood,", "An ancient Pict-built mansion stood,", "I spied, among an angel brood,", " A female pair;", "Sweet shone their high maternal blood,", " And father’s air. 1", "", "", "An ancient tower 2 to memory brought", "How Dettingen’s bold hero fought;", "Still, far from sinking into nought,", " It owns a lord", "Who far in western climates fought,", " With trusty sword.", "", "", "Among the rest I well could spy", "One gallant, graceful, martial boy,", "The soldier sparkled in his eye,", " A diamond water.", "I blest that noble badge with joy,", " That owned me frater. 3", "", "", "After 20th stanza of the text (at “Dispensing good”):—Near by arose a mansion fine 4", "The seat of many a muse divine;", "Not rustic muses such as mine,", " With holly crown’d,", "But th’ ancient, tuneful, laurell’d Nine,", " From classic ground.", "", "", "I mourn’d the card that Fortune dealt,", "To see where bonie Whitefoords dwelt; 5", "But other prospects made me melt,", " That village near; 6", "There Nature, Friendship, Love, I felt,", " Fond-mingling, dear!", "", "", "Hail! Nature’s pang, more strong than death!", "Warm Friendship’s glow, like kindling wrath!", "Love, dearer than the parting breath", " Of dying friend!", "Not ev’n with life’s wild devious path,", " Your force shall end!", "", "", "The Power that gave the soft alarms", "In blooming Whitefoord’s rosy charms,", "Still threats the tiny, feather’d arms,", " The barbed dart,", "While lovely Wilhelmina warms", " The coldest heart. 7", "", "", "After 21st stanza of the text (at “That, to adore”):—Where Lugar leaves his moorland plaid, 8", "Where lately Want was idly laid,", "I markèd busy, bustling Trade,", " In fervid flame,", "Beneath a Patroness’ aid,", " Of noble name.", "", "", "Wild, countless hills I could survey,", "And countless flocks as wild as they;", "But other scenes did charms display,", " That better please,", "Where polish’d manners dwell with Gray,", " In rural ease. 9", "", "", "Where Cessnock pours with gurgling sound; 10", "And Irwine, marking out the bound,", "Enamour’d of the scenes around,", " Slow runs his race,", "A name I doubly honour’d found, 11", " With knightly grace.", "", "", "Brydon’s brave ward, 12 I saw him stand,", "Fame humbly offering her hand,", "And near, his kinsman’s rustic band, 13", " With one accord,", "Lamenting their late blessed land", " Must change its lord.", "", "", "The owner of a pleasant spot,", "Near and sandy wilds, I last did note; 14", "A heart too warm, a pulse too hot", " At times, o’erran:", "But large in ev’ry feature wrote,", " Appear’d the Man.", "", "", " Note 1. Sundrum.—R. B. [back]", "Note 2. Stair.—R. B. [back]", "Note 3. Captain James Montgomerie, Master of St. James’ Lodge, Tarbolton, to which the author has the honour to belong.—R. B. [back]", "Note 4. Auchinleck.—R. B. [back]", "Note 5. Ballochmyle. [back]", "Note 6. Mauchline. [back]", "Note 7. Miss Wilhelmina Alexander. [back]", "Note 8. Cumnock.—R. B. [back]", "Note 9. Mr. Farquhar Gray.—R. B. [back]", "Note 10. Auchinskieth.—R. B. [back]", "Note 11. Caprington.—R. B. [back]", "Note 12. Colonel Fullerton.—R. B. [back]", "Note 13. Dr. Fullerton.—R. B. [back]", "Note 14. Orangefield.—R. B. [back]" ], "linecount": "92" }, { "title": "Stanzas to a Lady, With the Poems of CamoëNs", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "This votive pledge of fond esteem,", " Perhaps, dear girl! for me thou'lt prize;", "It sings of Love's enchanting dream,", " A theme we never can despise.", "", "Who blames it but the envious fool,", " The old and disappointed maid?", "Or pupil of the prudish school,", " In single sorrow doom'd to fade?", "", "Then read, dear Girl! with feeling read,", " For thou wilt ne'er be one of those;", "To thee, in vain, I shall not plead", " In pity for the Poet's woes.", "", "He was, in sooth, a genuine Bard;", " His was no faint, fictitious flame:", "Like his, may Love be thy reward,", " But not thy hapless fate the same." ], "linecount": "16" }, { "title": "Stanzas to Jessy", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "There is a mystic thread of life", " So dearly wreath'd with mine alone,", "That Destiny's relentless knife", " At once must sever both, or none.", "", "There is a Form on which these eyes", " Have fondly gazed with such delight--", "By day, that Form their joy supplies,", " And Dreams restore it, through the night.", "", "There is a Voice whose tones inspire", " Such softened feelings in my breast, -", "I would not hear a Seraph Choir,", " Unless that voice could join the rest.", "", "There is a Face whose Blushes tell", " Affection's tale upon the cheek,", "But pallid at our fond farewell,", " Proclaims more love than words can speak.", "", "There is a Lip, which mine has prest,", " But none had ever prest before;", "It vowed to make me sweetly blest,", " That mine alone should press it more.", "", "There is a Bosom all my own,", " Has pillow'd oft this aching head,", "A Mouth which smiles on me alone,", " An Eye, whose tears with mine are shed.", "", "There are two Hearts whose movements thrill,", " In unison so closely sweet,", "That Pulse to Pulse responsive still", " They Both must heave, or cease to beat.", "", "There are two Souls, whose equal flow", " In gentle stream so calmly run,", "That when they part--they part?--ah no!", " They cannot part--those Souls are One." ], "linecount": "32" }, { "title": "Stanzas Written in Passing the Ambracian Gulf", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "Through cloudless skies, in silvery sheen,", " Full beams the moon on Actium's coast:", "And on these waves, for Egypt's queen,", " The ancient world was won and lost.", "", "And now upon the scene I look,", " The azure grave of many a Roman;", "Where stern Ambition once forsook", " His wavering crown to follow _Woman_.", "", "Florence! whom I will love as well", " (As ever yet was said or sung,", "Since Orpheus sang his spouse from Hell)", " Whilst _thou_ art _fair_ and _I_ am _young_;", "", "Sweet Florence! those were pleasant times,", " When worlds were staked for Ladies' eyes:", "Had bards as many realms as rhymes,", " Thy charms might raise new Antonies.", "", "Though Fate forbids such things to be,", " Yet, by thine eyes and ringlets curled!", "I cannot _lose_ a _world_ for thee,", " But would not lose _thee_ for a _World_." ], "linecount": "20" }, { "title": "Stanzas for Music", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "Bright be the place of thy soul!", " No lovelier spirit than thine", "E'er burst from its mortal control,", " In the orbs of the blessed to shine.", "On earth thou wert all but divine,", " As thy soul shall immortally be;", "And our sorrow may cease to repine", " When we know that thy God is with thee.", "", "Light be the turf of thy tomb!", " May its verdure like emeralds be!", "There should not be the shadow of gloom", " In aught that reminds us of thee.", "Young flowers and an evergreen tree", " May spring from the spot of thy rest:", "But nor cypress nor yew let us see;", " For why should we mourn for the blest?" ], "linecount": "16" }, { "title": "Stanzas for Music", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "There be none of Beauty's daughters", " With a magic like thee;", "And like music on the waters", " Is thy sweet voice to me:", "When, as if its sound were causing", "The charméd Ocean's pausing,", "The waves lie still and gleaming,", "And the lulled winds seem dreaming:", "", "And the midnight Moon is weaving", " Her bright chain o'er the deep;", "Whose breast is gently heaving,", " As an infant's asleep:", "So the spirit bows before thee,", "To listen and adore thee;", "With a full but soft emotion,", "Like the swell of Summer's ocean.", "", "" ], "linecount": "17" }, { "title": "Stanzas for Music", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ "They say that Hope is happiness;", " But genuine Love must prize the past,", "And Memory wakes the thoughts that bless:", " They rose the first--they set the last;", "", "And all that Memory loves the most", " Was once our only Hope to be,", "And all that Hope adored and lost", " Hath melted into Memory.", "", "Alas! it is delusion all:", " The future cheats us from afar,", "Nor can we be what we recall,", " Nor dare we think on what we are." ], "linecount": "12" }, { "title": "Stanzas", "author": "George Gordon, Lord Byron", "lines": [ " Could Love for ever", " Run like a river,", " And Time's endeavour", " Be tried in vain--", " No other pleasure", " With this could measure;", " And like a treasure", " We'd hug the chain.", " But since our sighing", " Ends not in dying,", " And, formed for flying,", " Love plumes his wing;", " Then for this reason", " Let's love a season;", "But let that season be only Spring.", "", " When lovers parted", " Feel broken-hearted,", " And, all hopes thwarted,", " Expect to die;", " A few years older,", " Ah! how much colder", " They might behold her", " For whom they sigh!", " When linked together,", " In every weather,", " They pluck Love's feather", " From out his wing--", " He'll stay for ever,", " But sadly shiver", "Without his plumage, when past the Spring.", "", " Like Chiefs of Faction,", " His life is action--", " A formal paction", " That curbs his reign,", " Obscures his glory,", " Despot no more, he", " Such territory", " Quits with disdain.", " Still, still advancing,", " With banners glancing,", " His power enhancing,", " He must move on--", " Repose but cloys him,", " Retreat destroys him,", "Love brooks not a degraded throne.", "", " Wait not, fond lover!", " Till years are over,", " And then recover", " As from a dream.", " While each bewailing", " The other's failing.", " With wrath and railing,", " All hideous seem--", " While first decreasing,", " Yet not quite ceasing,", " Wait not till teasing,", " All passion blight:", " If once diminished", " Love's reign is finished--", "Then part in friendship,--and bid good-night.", "", " So shall Affection", " To recollection", " The dear connection", " Bring back with joy:", " You had not waited", " Till, tired or hated,", " Your passions sated", " Began to cloy.", " Your last embraces", " Leave no cold traces--", " The same fond faces", " As through the past:", " And eyes, the mirrors", " Of your sweet errors,", "Reflect but rapture--not least though last.", "", " True, separations", " Ask more than patience;", " What desperations", " From such have risen!", " But yet remaining,", " What is't but chaining", " Hearts which, once waning,", " Beat 'gainst their prison?", " Time can but cloy love,", " And use destroy love:", " The wingéd boy, Love,", " Is but for boys--", " You'll find it torture", " Though sharper, shorter,", "To wean, and not wear out your joys." ], "linecount": "90" }, { "title": "Stanza From a Translation of the Marseillaise Hymn", "author": "Percy Bysshe Shelley", "lines": [ "Tremble, Kings despised of man!", "Ye traitors to your Country,", "Tremble! Your parricidal plan", "At length shall meet its destiny...", "We all are soldiers fit to fight,", "But if we sink in glory's night", "Our mother Earth will give ye new", "The brilliant pathway to pursue", "Which leads to Death or Victory..." ], "linecount": "9" }, { "title": "To Constantia: Stanzas 1 and 2", "author": "Percy Bysshe Shelley", "lines": [ "As restored by Mr. C.D. Locock.", "", "Cease, cease--for such wild lessons madmen learn", "Thus to be lost, and thus to sink and die", "Perchance were death indeed!--Constantia turn", "In thy dark eyes a power like light doth lie", "Even though the sounds its voice that were", "Between lips are laid to sleep:", "Within thy breath, and on thy hair", "Like odour, it is yet", "And from thy touch like fire doth leap--", "Even while I write, my burning cheeks are wet--", "Alas, that the torn heart can bleed but not forget.", "", " breathless awe like the swift change", "Of dreams unseen but felt in youthful slumbers", "Wild sweet yet incommunicably strange", "Thou breathest now in fast ascending numbers..." ], "linecount": "16" }, { "title": "Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples", "author": "Percy Bysshe Shelley", "lines": [ "The sun is warm, the sky is clear,", "The waves are dancing fast and bright,", "Blue isles and snowy mountains wear", "The purple noon's transparent might,", "The breath of the moist earth is light,", "Around its unexpanded buds;", "Like many a voice of one delight,", "The winds, the birds, the ocean floods,", "The City's voice itself, is soft like Solitude's.", "", "I see the Deep's untrampled floor", "With green and purple seaweeds strown;", "I see the waves upon the shore,", "Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown:", "I sit upon the sands alone,--", "The lightning of the noontide ocean", "Is flashing round me, and a tone", "Arises from its measured motion,", "How sweet! did any heart now share in my emotion.", "", "Alas! I have nor hope nor health,", "Nor peace within nor calm around,", "Nor that content surpassing wealth", "The sage in meditation found,", "And walked with inward glory crowned--", "Nor fame, nor power, nor love, nor leisure.", "Others I see whom these surround--", "Smiling they live, and call life pleasure;--", "To me that cup has been dealt in another measure.", "", "Yet now despair itself is mild,", "Even as the winds and waters are;", "I could lie down like a tired child,", "And weep away the life of care", "Which I have borne and yet must bear,", "Till death like sleep might steal on me,", "And I might feel in the warm air", "My cheek grow cold, and hear the sea", "Breathe o'er my dying brain its last monotony.", "", "Some might lament that I were cold,", "As I, when this sweet day is gone,", "Which my lost heart, too soon grown old,", "Insults with this untimely moan;", "They might lament--for I am one", "Whom men love not,--and yet regret,", "Unlike this day, which, when the sun", "Shall on its stainless glory set,", "Will linger, though enjoyed, like joy in memory yet." ], "linecount": "45" }, { "title": "Cancelled Stanza", "author": "Percy Bysshe Shelley", "lines": [ "Gather, O gather,", "Foeman and friend in love and peace!", "Waves sleep together", "When the blasts that called them to battle, cease.", "For fangless Power grown tame and mild", "Is at play with Freedom's fearless child--", "The dove and the serpent reconciled!" ], "linecount": "7" }, { "title": "Stanza", "author": "Percy Bysshe Shelley", "lines": [ "If I walk in Autumn's even", "While the dead leaves pass,", "If I look on Spring's soft heaven,--", "Something is not there which was", "Winter's wondrous frost and snow,", "Summer's clouds, where are they now?" ], "linecount": "6" }, { "title": "Stanzas From Calderon's Cisma De Inglaterra", "author": "Percy Bysshe Shelley", "lines": [ "TRANSLATED BY MEDWIN AND CORRECTED BY SHELLEY.", "", "Hast thou not seen, officious with delight,", "Move through the illumined air about the flower", "The Bee, that fears to drink its purple light,", "Lest danger lurk within that Rose's bower?", "Hast thou not marked the moth's enamoured flight", "About the Taper's flame at evening hour;", "'Till kindle in that monumental fire", "His sunflower wings their own funereal pyre?", "", "My heart, its wishes trembling to unfold.", "Thus round the Rose and Taper hovering came,", "'And Passion's slave, Distrust, in ashes cold.", "Smothered awhile, but could not quench the flame,'--", "Till Love, that grows by disappointment bold,", "And Opportunity, had conquered Shame;", "And like the Bee and Moth, in act to close,", "'I burned my wings, and settled on the Rose.'" ], "linecount": "17" } ]