P1 - Poems

The Prince
By Josephine Dodge Daskam

My heart it was a cup of gold

That at his lip did long to lie,
But he hath drunk the red wine down,
And tossed the goblet by.

My heart it was a floating bird

That through the world did wander free,
But he hath locked it in a cage,
And lost the silver key.

My heart it was a white, white rose

That bloomed upon a broken bough,
He did but wear it for an hour,
And it is withered now.

goblet: a drinking cup with a stem and a foot.

bough: a firm branch of a tree

This poem is about a woman who loved a man who did not reciprocate her love.

The speaker is heartbroken. She is angry with this man who has abused her trust and virtue.
I know this because she compares her heart to a discarded wine glass, a bird trapped in a
cage, and a flower that was worn and quickly discarded. These are all symbolic of how this
man made her feel.
A Dream
By Stephen Phillips

My dead love came to me, and said:

'God gives me one hour's rest,
To spend with thee on earth again:
How shall we spend it best?'

'Why, as of old,' I said; and so

We quarrelled, as of old:
But, when I turned to make my peace,
That one short hour was told.

quarrel: a verbal dispute or heated argument

This poem is about a dream that the speaker had in which his wife comes back from the
dead for one hour. The speaker says that they should do what they have always done and
fight.

The speaker's tone is humorous with a touch of sadness. The tone is humorous because of
lines like, "'Why, as of old,' I said; and so / We quarrelled." This is humorous because if a lost
loved one were to return to you for one hour, the last thing that you would probably want to
do is spend that time fighting. The tone turns sad at the end of the poem when the speaker
attempts to make peace with his wife, but she is gone. This shows that he loves and misses
her.
The Dilettante: a Modern Type
By Paul Lawrence Dunbar

He scribbles some in prose and verse,

And now and then he prints it;
He paints a little,--gathers some
Of Nature's gold and mints it.

He plays a little, sings a song,

Acts tragic roles, or funny;
He does, because his love is strong,
But not, oh, not for money!

He studies almost everything

From social art to science;
A thirsty mind, a flowing spring,
Demand and swift compliance.

He looms above the sordid crowd--

At least through friendly lenses;
While his mamma looks pleased and proud,
And kindly pays expenses.

1. dilettante: an amateur, someone who dabbles in a field casually

2. prose: written language, not poetry
3. verse: poetry, usually with a fixed rhythm or meter
4. compliance: yielding or agreeing to or with another to conform

This poem is about a type of person who pursues the arts lightly.

The speaker's tone is light and humorous. The tone is light because his descriptions of the
dilettante are neither scolding nor full of praise. Here is an example: "He studies almost
everything / From social art to science;" The dilettante is not described as a master of
anything, but the speaker reserves his judgment, until the end of the poem when he says,
"his mamma looks pleased and proud, / And kindly pays expenses." This is supposed to be
funny because he is implicitly criticizing this grown man for being unable to pay his own way.
To a Child Dancing Upon the Shore
By William Butler Yeats

Dance there upon the shore;

What need have you to care
For wind or water's roar?
And tumble out your hair
That the salt drops have wet;
Being young you have not known
The fool's triumph, nor yet
Love lost as soon as won.
And he, the best warrior, dead
And all the sheaves to bind!
What need that you should dread
The monstrous crying of wind?

This poem is about how the speaker enjoys riding to town on days when there is not a lot of
work to do.

The speaker's tone is carefree and foreboding. The tone is carefree because of lines like this:
"Dance there upon the shore; / What need have you to care / For wind or water's roar?" He
is permitting the boy to have fun and to live without worry. There are darker, more
foreboding undertones as well. This can be seen in lines like, "Being young you have not
known / The fool's triumph, nor yet / Love lost as soon as won." He is telling the boy to be
carefree, but at the same time he is informing him that life is full of unfair and disappointing
things.
Noon
By Kendall Banning

The bees are humming, humming in the clover;

The bobolink is singing in the rye;
The brook is purling, purling in the valley,
And the river's laughing, radiant, to the sky!

The buttercups are nodding in the sunlight;

The winds are whispering, whispering to the pine;
The joy of June has found me; as an aureole it's crowned me
Because, oh best beloved, you are mine!

1. bobolink: a songbird.
2. purling: when a stream flows with a murmuring sound.
3. aureole: a golden circle of light, usually around the head of a god or a saint.

This poem is about a person appreciating the world because he has found someone to love.

The speaker is ecstatic, joyful, or happy. I believe this because of lines like, "the river's
laughing, radiant, to the sky!" The river is described as laughing, not roaring or being noisy.
The author is seeing the sights of spring through lover's glasses. The reason for his cheer
becomes clear in the last line: "Because, oh best beloved, you are mine!" He is in love.
The Land of Nod
By Robert Louis Stevenson

From breakfast on through all the day

At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.

All by myself I have to go,

With none to tell me what to do--
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain-sides of dreams.

The strangest things are there for me,

Both things to eat and things to see,
And many frightening sights abroad
Till morning in the land of Nod.

Try as I like to find the way,

I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear.

This poem is about a young boy or girl who goes to a strange and wondrous land of dreams
at night.
The speaker's tone is adventurous. I believe this because of lines like this: "The strangest
things are there for me, / Both things to eat and things to see." The speaker is describing
how there are unusual things in this dreamland, but the speaker is willing to see and eat
these things. I believe that is adventurous.
Swinging
By W. K. Clifford

Swing, swing, swing,

See! the sun is gone away;
Swing, swing, swing,
Gone to make a bright new day.
Swing, swing, swing.
I can see as up I go
The poplars waving to and fro,
I can see as I come down
The lights are twinkling in the town,
High and low,
Fast and slow,
Swing, swing, swing.

This poem is about a young boy or girl who is having a good time swinging.

The speaker's tone is carefree and a bit boastful. I believe the speaker's tone is carefree
because of lines like, "Swing, swing, swing, / See! the sun is gone away;" This means that the
sun has gone away and it is now night, but he or she doesn't seem to mind. The speaker's
tone is also a little boastful in lines like, "I can see as I come down / The lights are twinkling
in the town." I believe that the speaker is bragging about the things that he or she can see
from high up on his or her swing. This makes the speaker sound a little bit boastful.
Little Things
By Ebenezer Cobham Brewer

Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.

Thus the little minutes,

Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.

This poem is about how little things that seem unimportant actually make up the big
important things.
The speaker's tone is wise and inspirational. This is because he is imparting wisdom and
advice. This can be seen in lines like this: "Little drops of water … Make the mighty ocean."
This tells readers that the mighty ocean is made from little drops of water. These little drops
of water might seem unimportant but they make the ocean.
Heat
By Hilda Doolittle

O wind, rend open the heat,

Cut apart the heat,
Rend it to tatters.

Fruit cannot drop

Through this thick air --
Fruit cannot fall into heat
That presses up and blunts
The points of pears
And rounds the grapes.

Cut the heat --

Plough through it,
Turning it on either side
Of your path.

1. rend: to tear or rip apart

2. tatters: ragged clothing, fabric, or paper

This poem is about the speaker hoping for a strong wind to blow through on a very hot day.

The speaker's tone is dramatic and exaggerated. I believe this because he says that the air is
so thick that fruit cannot drop, and that the thick air is responsible for the curved and
rounded shapes of fruits. These are gross exaggerations as to the effects of the heat.
from The Land of Beginning Again
By Louisa Fletcher Tarkington

I wish there were some wonderful place

Called the Land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches,
And all our poor, selfish grieves
Could be dropped, like a shabby old coat, at the door,
And never put on again.

We would find the things we intended to do,

But forgot and remembered too late--
Little praises unspoken, little promises broken,
And all of the thousand and one
Little duties neglected that might have perfected
The days of one less fortunate.

So I wish that there were some wonderful place

Called the Land of Beginning Again,
Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches,
And all our poor, selfish grieves
Could be dropped, like a ragged old coat, at the door,
And never put on again.

1. grieves: to feel very sad about something

2. shabby: torn, worn, in poor condition
3. neglected: failed to care for something

This poem is about someone who wishes that she could just forget all of her regrets and
mistakes.

The speaker's tone is regretful. I believe this because of lines like the following: "Where all
our mistakes and all our heartaches / Could be dropped, like a ragged old coat [...] / And
never put on again." She has a lot of feelings of guilt and regret. She wishes that she could
just let go of these feelings, but she can't. They haunt her.
Strange Meetings
By Harold Mono

If suddenly a clod of earth should rise,

And walk about, and breathe, and speak, and love,
How one would tremble, and in what surprise
Gasp: "Can you move?"

I see men walking, and I always feel:

"Earth! How have you done this? What can you be?"
I can't learn how to know men, or conceal
How strange they are to me.

1. clod: a lump of something, especially dirt or clay

2. conceal: hide

This poem is about a person who is expressing their amazement at the miracle of life.

The speaker's tone is full of wonder and amazement. I believe this because he says, "I see
men walking, and I always feel: / 'Earth! How have you done this? What can you be?'" He is
talking about a pretty normal site, seeing someone walking, but he compares it to a lump of
dirt rising, speaking, and loving. In other words he is marveling at life itself.
from Riding to Town
By Paul Lawrence Dunbar

When labor is light and the morning is fair,

I find it a pleasure beyond all compare
To hitch up my nag and go hurrying down
And take Katie May for a ride into town;
For bumpety-bump goes the wagon,
But tra-la-la-la our lay.
There's joy in a song as we rattle along
In the light of the glorious day.

A coach would be fine, but a spring wagon's good;

My jeans are a match for Kate's gingham and hood;
The hills take us up and the vales take us down,
But what matters that? we are riding to town,
And bumpety-bump goes the wagon,
But tra-la-la-la sing we.
There's never a care may live in the air
That is filled with the breath of our glee.

1. nag: a horse
2. gingham: a cotton fabric
3. vales: valleys

This poem is about how the speaker enjoys riding to town on a day when there is not a lot
of work to do.

The speaker's tone is peaceful, happy, content, or relaxed. I believe this because of lines like,
"There's never a care may live in the air / That is filled with the breath of our glee." This
shows that the speaker is relaxed and happy when he takes these trips to town.
from Songs of an Empty House
By Marguerite Wilkinson

My father got me strong and straight and slim,

And I give thanks to him;
My mother bore me glad and sound and sweet, --
I kiss her feet.

I have no son, whose life of flesh and fire

Sprang from my splendid sire,
No daughter for whose soul my mother's flesh
Wrought raiment fresh.

Life's venerable rhythms like a flood

Beat in my brain and blood,
Crying from all the generations past,
"Is this the last?"

And I make answer to my haughty dead,

Who made me, heart and head,
"Even the sunbeams falter, flicker and bend --
I am the end."

1. raiment: clothing or material

2. venerable: commanding respect because of age, character, or position.
3. haughty: expressing an attitude of superiority.

The speaker is expressing her decision to not have children. She is the last descendent and
will end the line.

The speaker is resolved. I believe this because the speaker answers her ancestors confidently
when they ask, "Is this the last?" She says, "I am the end." She does not waiver in her
position.
Prevision
By Aline Kilmer

I know you are too dear to stay;

You are so exquisitely sweet:
My lonely house will thrill someday
To echoes of your eager feet.

I hold your words within my heart,

So few, so infinitely dear;
Watching your fluttering hands I start
At the corroding touch of fear.

A faint, unearthly music rings

From you to Heaven -- it is not far!
A mist about your beauty clings
Like a thin cloud before a star.

My heart shall keep the child I knew,

When you are really gone from me,
And spend its life remembering you
As shells remember the lost sea.

This poem is about a woman who has lost or is thinking about losing her child. She is coming
to terms with that loss.

The speaker's tone is mournful. I believe this because of lines like "[my heart will] spend its
life remembering you / As shells remember the lost sea." Not only is this a beautiful line of
poetry, but also it shows that the loss will be felt permanently.
from I Shall Not Die for Thee
By Douglas Hyde

For thee, I shall not die,

Woman of high fame and name;
Foolish men thou mayest slay
I and they are not the same.

Why should I expire

For the fire of an eye,
Slender waist or swan-like limb,
Is't for them that I should die?

The golden hair, the forehead thin,

The chaste mien, the gracious ease,
The rounded heel, the languid tone,--
Fools alone find death from these.

Thy sharp wit, thy perfect calm,

Thy thin palm like foam o' the sea;
Thy white neck, thy blue eye,
I shall not die for thee.

Woman, graceful as the swan,

A wise man did nurture me.
Little palm, white neck, bright eye,
I shall not die for ye.

1. chaste: morally pure

2. mien: facial expression or attitude
3. languid: lacking enthusiasm

This poem is about a man who refuses to die for any woman. While acknowledging charm
and beauty as good things, he does not believe that they are things that are worth death.
The speaker's tone is firm, haughty, and snide. I believe this because he says things like,
"Foolish men thou mayest slay." With this he does two things: calls people who died for
beauty fools, and implies that the woman's beauty is what actually killed the men, rather
than the true cause of death (i.e. sword to the head, a tragic accident while attempting to
impress a woman). He is acting better than people who have died for beauty.
"There will come Soft Rain"
By Sara Teasdale

There will come soft rain and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,

And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire

Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire.

And not one will know of the war, not one

Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,

If mankind perished utterly.

And Spring herself when she woke at dawn,

Would scarcely know that we were gone.

1. tremulous: trembling, quivering, or shaking

2. perished: died or expired
3. utterly: totally, completely

This poem is about how the natural world would not care if all of mankind destroyed itself.

Initially, the speaker's tone is reverent. She is appreciating the beauty of nature. This is clear
in lines like "swallows circling with their shimmering sound." She uses a nice pleasant word
like "shimmering" rather than "squawking" to describe the sound of the birds. This shows
that she believes that the natural world is beautiful. Later, however, when she discusses the
complete demise of mankind, her tone is indifferent, as though it would not matter at all.
This is obvious in lines like, "And Spring herself when she woke at dawn, / Would scarcely
know that we were gone." To say that the total extinction of the human race would go
unnoticed expresses an attitude of indifference.