Poetry

Come, follow, follow me– You, fairy elves that be, Which circle on the green– Come, follow Mab, your queen! Hand in hand let’s dance around, For this place is fairy ground. When mortals are at rest, And snoring in their nest, Unheard and unespied, Through keyholes we do glide; Over tables, stools, and shelves, We [...]

Continue Reading THE FAIRY QUEEN POEM

Once the Emperor Charles of Spain, With his swarthy, grave commanders, I forget in what campaign, Long besieged, in mud and rain, Some old frontier town of Flanders. Up and down the dreary camp, In great boots of Spanish leather, Striding with a measured tramp, These Hidalgos, dull and damp, Cursed the Frenchmen, cursed the [...]

Continue Reading HENRY W. LONGFELLOW – THE EMPEROR’S BIRD’S-NEST POEM

THE ARROW AND THE SONG POETRY. I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight. I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For who has sight so [...]

Continue Reading HENRY W. LONGFELLOW – THE ARROW AND THE SONG POEM

Forth upon the Gitche Gumee, On the shining Big-Sea-Water, With his fishing-line of cedar, Of the twisted bark of cedar, Forth to catch the sturgeon Nahma, Mishe-Nahma, King of Fishes, In his birch canoe exulting All alone went Hiawatha. Through the clear, transparent water He could see the fishes swimming Far down in the depths [...]

Continue Reading HENRY W. LONGFELLOW – HIAWATHA’S FISHING POEM

It was a hungry pussy cat, upon Thanksgiving morn, And she watched a thankful little mouse, that ate an ear of corn. “If I ate that thankful little mouse, how thankful he should be, When he has made a meal himself, to make a meal for me! “Then with his thanks for having fed, and [...]

Continue Reading Oliver Herford – A THANKSGIVING FABLE POEM

The day is ending, The night is descending; The marsh is frozen, The river dead. Through clouds like ashes The red sun flashes On village windows That glimmer red. The snow recommences; The buried fences Mark no longer The road o’er the plain; While through the meadows, Like fearful shadows, Slowly passes A funeral train. [...]

Continue Reading HENRY W. LONGFELLOW – AFTERNOON IN FEBRUARY POEM

“Little by little,” an acorn said, As it slowly sank in its mossy bed, “I am improving every day, Hidden deep in the earth away.” Little by little, each day it grew; Little by little, it sipped the dew; Downward it sent out a thread-like root; Up in the air sprung a tiny shoot. Day [...]

Continue Reading LITTLE BY LITTLE POEM

Across the narrow beach we flit, One little sandpiper and I; And fast I gather, bit by bit, The scattered driftwood bleached and dry. The wild waves reach their hands for it, The wild wind raves, the tide runs high, As up and down the beach we flit, One little sandpiper and I. Above our [...]

Continue Reading Celia Thaxter – THE SANDPIPER POEM