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Overview
Featured poems include those of Pushkin ("I Loved You"), Yeats ("Down by the Salley Gardens"), Jonson ("On My First Daughter"), Hughes ("The Negro Speaks of Rivers"), Basho ("The Quiet Pond"), Bhasa ("The Moon"), and Tsvetaeva ("I do not think, or argue, or complain"). Additional selections include verse by Li Po, Sappho, Paz, Shakespeare, Dickinson, Blake, Campion, H.D., Heine, Frost, Lermontov, Swift, Rilke, and many others.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780486783192 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Dover Publications |
| Publication date: | 08/22/2013 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 208 |
| File size: | 621 KB |
Read an Excerpt
Great Short Poems from Around the World
By Bob Blaisdell
Dover Publications, Inc.
Copyright © 2013 Dover Publications, Inc.All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-486-78319-2
CHAPTER 1
Abu'l-Ala al-Ma'rri
(Syria, 973–1058)
"Thus they have passed ..."
Thus they have passed, and we shall follow soon
Into an endless Midnight or a Noon;
The Stars, that likewise oft shoot from their spheres,
Fall in the arms of wooing Sun or Moon.
—translated from the Arabic by Ameen F. Rihani
Yamabe Akahito
(Japan, d. c. 736)
"Like the mists that ever rise"
Like the mists that ever rise
Over Asuka's quiet pools,
My longing is such
As will not easily die.
—translated from the Japanese by the Iwanami Shoten
Anna Akhmatova
(Russia, 1889–1966)
"One can never mistake true tenderness"
One can never mistake true tenderness
Its touch is serene and sure.
There's no use in your rapt attentiveness,
Enfolding my shoulders in furs.
And in vain do you speak, submissively
Words of first, unrequited love.
Well I know what your looks are explicitly
And insatiably speaking of.
—translated from the Russian by Ekaterina Rogalskaya
The Muse
When, at night, I await
Her, life it seems hangs
By a hair: glory, youth, freedom—
Laid out before the divine guest
Pipe in hand.
And here she came! Throwing
Back her veil, carefully she studied me.
I say to her: "It's you who
Dictated to Dante The Inferno?"
She answers: "It is I."
—translated from the Russian by Bob Blaisdell
Richard Aldington
(England, 1892–1962)
Evening
The chimneys, rank on rank,
Cut the clear sky;
The moon
With a rag of gauze about her loins
Poses among them, an awkward Venus—
And here am I looking wantonly at her
Over the kitchen sink.
The River
I.
I drifted along the river
Until I moored my boat
By these crossed trunks.
Here the mist moves
Over fragile leaves and rushes,
Colourless waters and brown fading hills.
She has come from beneath the trees,
Moving within the mists,
A floating leaf.
II.
O blue flower of the evening,
You have touched my face
With your leaves of silver.
Love me for I must depart.
Amalfi
We will come down to you,
O very deep sea,
And drift upon your pale green waves
Like scattered petals.
We will come down to you from the hills,
From the scented lemon-groves,
From the hot sun.
We will come down,
O Thalassa,
And drift upon
Your pale green waves
Like petals.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
(U.S.A., 1836–1906)
Memory
My mind lets go a thousand things,
Like dates of wars and deaths of kings
And yet recalls the very hour—
'Twas noon by yonder village tower,
And on the last blue noon in May—
The wind came briskly up this way,
Crisping the brook beside the road;
Then, pausing here, set down its load
Of pine-scents, and shook listlessly
Two petals from that wild-rose tree.
William Allingham
(Ireland, 1824–1889)
Four Ducks on a Pond
Four ducks on a pond,
A grass-bank beyond,
A blue sky of spring,
White clouds on the wing;
What a little thing
To remember for years—
To remember with tears!
Alpheius of Mytilene
(Greece, c. 1st century?)
"Unhappy they whose life is loveless"
Unhappy they whose life is loveless;
for without love
it is not easy to do aught or to say aught.
I, for example, am now all too slow,
but were I to catch sight of Xenophilus
I would fly swifter than lightning.
Therefore I bid all men not to shun
but to pursue sweet desire;
Love is the whetstone of the soul.
—translated from The Greek Anthology by W. R. Paton
Anacreon
(Greece, 582 B.C.–485 B.C.)
Nature's Laws
Earth drinks up brook,
And then the tree
Drinks up the earth.
In turn the sea
Drinks rivers up.
And so 'tis done.
Sun drinks up sea,
And moon the sun.
Well then, my friends,
Don't make outcry;
If all do drink,
Why shouldn't I?
—translated from the Greek by Dorothy Belle Pollack
Ball Game
Golden haired Love
calls me (tossing
me his bright ball)
to come and play at
catch with a young
thing in red sandals.
But she, being off
prosperous Lesbos,
finds fault with my
gray hairs: she hangs
around open-mouthed
after another man.
—translated from the Greek by Mary Barnard
Anonymous
(Greece, 1st century–6th century)
"The way down to Hades"
The way down to
Hades
is
straight,
whether you
start from Athens or
whether you betake
yourself there,
when dead,
from Meroe.
Let it not vex thee
to die
far from thy
country.
One fair wind
to
Hades
blows
from all
lands.
— translated from The Greek Anthology by W. R. Paton
"Young Men dancing, and the old"
Young Men dancing, and the old
Sporting I wish joy behold;
But an old Man gay and free
Dancing most I love to see:
Age and youth alike he shares,
For his Heart belies his Hairs.
— translated from The Greek Anthology by Thomas Stanley
"Caught, Thrasybulus, in the net of a boy's love"
Caught, Thrasybulus,
in the net of a boy's love,
thou gaspest like a dolphin on the beach,
longing for the waves,
and not even Perseus' sickle is sharp enough
to cut through
the net that binds thee.
— translated from The Greek Anthology by W. R. Paton
"The love of women touches not my heart"
The love of women touches not my heart,
but male brands have heaped
unquenchable coals of fire on me.
Greater is this heat:
by as much as a man is stronger than a woman,
by so much is this desire sharper.
— translated from The Greek Anthology by W. R. Paton
"Persistent Love"
Persistent Love,
thou ever whirlest at me
no desire for woman,
but the lightning of burning
longing for males.
Now burnt by Damon,
now looking on Ismenus,
I ever suffer long pain.
And not only on these have I looked,
but my eye,
ever madly
roving,
is dragged into
the nets
of all
alike.
—translated from The Greek Anthology by W. R. Paton
"My name—my country—what are they to thee?"
My name—my country—what are they to thee?
What, whether base or proud, my pedigree?
Perhaps I far surpass'd all other men—
Perhaps I fell below them all—what then?
Suffice it, stranger! that thou seest a tomb:
Thou know'st its use—it hides—no matter whom.
—translated from The Greek Anthology by William Cowper
"Poor in my youth, and in life's later scenes"
Poor in my youth, and in life's later scenes
Rich to no end, I curse my natal hour,
Who nought enjoy'd, while young, denied the means;
And nought when old, enjoy'd, denied the power.
—translated from The Greek Anthology by William Cowper
Anonymous
(Ireland, c. 7th century)
The Scribe: "A Hedge of Trees"
A hedge of trees surrounds me,
A blackbird's lay sings to me;
Above my lined booklet
The trilling birds chant to me.
In a grey mantle from the top of bushes
The cuckoo sings:
Verily—may the Lord shield me!—
Well do I write under the greenwood.
—translated from the Irish by Kuno Meyer
Anonymous
(Japan, c. 736)
"As the moon sinks on the mountain-edge"
As the moon sinks on the mountain-edge
The fishermen's lights flicker
Far out on the dark wide sea.
When we think that we alone
Are steering our ships at midnight,
We hear the splash of oars
Far beyond us.
—translated from the Japanese by the Iwanami Shoten
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Great Short Poems from Around the World by Bob Blaisdell. Copyright © 2013 Dover Publications, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Dover Publications, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
NoteAbu’l-Ala al-Ma’rri "Thus they have passed, and we shall follow soon"Yamabe Akahito"Like the mists that ever rise"Anna Akhmatova"One can never mistake true tenderness"The MuseRichard AldingtonEveningThe RiverAmalfiThomas Bailey AldrichMemoryWilliam AllinghamFour Ducks on a PondAlpheius of Mytilene"Unhappy they whose life is loveless"AnacreonNature’s LawsBall Game Anonymous "The way down to Hades""Young Men dancing, and the old""Caught, Thrasybulus, in the net of a boy’s love""The love of women touches not my heart""Persistent Love""My name—my country—what are they to thee?" "Poor in my youth, and in life’s later scenes" The Scribe: "A Hedge of Trees" "As the moon sinks on the mountain-edge""The cloud clings" "While with my sleeves I sweep the bed""The nightingale on the flowering plum""Moonlight" Three Triads "Ah, would that I could hide within my songs"Grief Song ("Since you love me and I love you")Cuckoo Song "Adam lay ybounden"Youth and Age Westphalian Song"Western wind, when wilt thou blow?" "Give justice, O blue sky""O sleep, fond Fancy, sleep, my head thou tirest"Madrigal ("My Love in her attire doth shew her wit")I see the snowy winter sky Quail Magpie SongBlack HairSpring SongSong of the Trees The Approach of the Storm A Loon I Thought It WasEnvoyButterfly SongPtarmigan You Have No Horses Minnow and Flowers"I took up my lament"Yaqui Song The Rising of the Buffalo MenAsclepiades"Thou hoardest still thy maidenhead’s hid treasure" "Sweet to the thirsty"Matsuo Basho"The quiet pond" "Sleeping at noon""The roadside thistle""Will you turn toward me?"Charles BaudelaireThe VoyageGustavo Adolfo BécquerRhyme 10Rhyme 21Rhyme 30Rhyme 38Rhyme 50Bhartrihari"The silvery laughter; eyes that sparkle bold""Brightly the hearth-fire leap, and the lit lamp""But to remember her my heart is sad""The sportive Love-god in this worldly sea"BhasaThe Moon Elizabeth BishopSongWilliam BlakeThe FlyBertolt BrechtThe Mask of Evil Emily Bronte"The night is darkening round me"Robert BrowningBad Dreams Pippa’s SongYosa Buson "struck by a raindrop"Lord Byron, George Gordon"So, we’ll no more go a roving"CallimachosElegy for HeraclitusJoseph CampbellThe Old Woman The Hills of Cualann Thomas Campion"When to her lute Corinna sings" "Though you are young and I am old"Catullus"Thou saidst that I alone thy Heart could move""Lesbia for ever on me rails" Gutierre de CetinaMadrigal Wang Chi Tell Me Now T’ao Ch’ien"A long time ago"Po Chu-iResignation Illness Matthias ClaudiusDeath and the Maiden Abraham Cowley The Epicure John ClareThe Secret Adelaide CrapseyNovember Night The Guarded Wound On Seeing Weather-Beaten Trees Robert CreeleyI Know a Man Dakiki"O would that in the world there were no night"Samuel Daniel"Love is a sickness full of woes" Emily Dickinson"I’m Nobody! Who are you?" "The Soul selects her own Society""There’s a certain Slant of light"Dilsoz"If the proud girl I love would cast a glance behind her"Digby Mackworth DolbenRequests H. D. (Hilda Doolittle)SongPaul Laurence DunbarSilence Compensation Theology T. S. EliotMorning at the Window Juan EscrivaWelcome Death EuenusThe Vine to the Goat FirdawsiReproach John Gould FletcherKurenai-ye (or "Red Picture") Memory and Forgetting Changing Love Fugitive Beauty F. S. FlintCones Terror Robert FrostFire and Ice Nothing Gold Can StayJohann Wolfgang von Goethe Calm at Sea "All the time a man is sober" Wanderer’s Night SongBarnabe GoogeA Posy Of Money Jehudah HaleviOphraThomas HardyHer Initials I Look into My Glass An Upbraiding John HaringtonThe Author to His Wife, of a Woman’s Eloquence Comparison of the Sonnet and the Epigram Heinrich Heine"I wish that all my love-songs" "Your eyes of azure violets""Ah, yes, my songs are poisoned"Religion "The old dream comes again to me""I love this white and slender body" "From pain, wherein I languish"George HerbertThe Quiddity Robert HerrickUpon Julia’s Clothes Her Legs Upon Some To God, on His SicknesseHermann Hesse"I love women who a thousand years ago" Nazim Hikmet I Love You Optimistic Man After Release From Prison Princess Hirokawa"The sheaves of my love-thoughts" "I thought there could be" Friedrich HolderlinSocrates and Alcibiades Langston HughesPersonal Death of an Old Seaman The Negro Speaks of Rivers T. E. HulmeAutumn Kobayashi Issa"Hey! Don’t swat" "Thud-thud" Juan Ramon JiménezYellow Spring Ben JonsonEpitaph on Elizabeth, L. H. Why I Write Not of LoveThe Hourglass"Still to be neat, still to be dressed" On My First Daughter "Swell me a bowl with lusty wine"Kabir "A sore pain troubles me day and night" "Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves"Kasa Kanamura"A sojourner in Mika’s plains"Empress Kogyoku"From the age of the gods"Alfred KreymborgClay Screen Dance: For Rihani Walter Savage LandorIantheEmily LawlessIn SpainD. H. LawrenceBrooding Grief NonentityNew Year’s Eve Luis de LeonOn Leaving Prison Mikhail LermontovGratitude "Land of masters, land of slaves" Detlev von LiliencronFour in Hand Federico Garcia LorcaHour of Stars (1920) Lucilius"When Ulysses after twenty years"Lady MaisunShe Scorns Her Husband the Caliph Taylor MaliBecause My Students Asked Me Jorge ManriqueSong Manzei"To what shall I liken this life?" Martial"To read my book the Virgin she""He unto whom thou art so partial"Mayura"With her left hand doing up her heavy hair" "Who is this maiden" "Who is this timid gazelle"Meleager Mosquitoes"The cup rejoiceth in its pride" "Oh, ye bitter waves of Love" "I made haste to escape from Love" "Pain has begun to touch my heart"George Meredith"They have no song, the sedges dry"Czeslaw MiloszGift Otomo Miyori"You seem to have lived, my lady"Thomas MooreAn Argument Edward MorikeThink of It, My Soul! Arakida Moritake"A fallen blossom"Nikolai NekrasovThe Capitals Are Rocked In My Country (The Serf Speaks) Farewell Ivan Savvich NikitinA Night in a Village Princess Nukada"While waiting for you" Abu Nuwas"Four things banish grief and care""Ho! a cup, and fill it up, and tell me it is wine" Nikolay OgarevThe Road Prince Otsu and Lady Ishikawa"Waiting for you"Octavio PazTouchGeorge PeeleSong of Bethsabe BathingGyorgy Petri To Be Said Over and Over Again "I am stuck, Lord, on your hook" Caius Petronius"Doing, a filthy pleasure is, and short"Li PoTaking Leave of a Friend Still Night Thoughts A Night with a Friend Autumn Cove Ezra PoundIn a Station of the MetroCoupletThe GarretΤο Καλον [title in Greek letters]AlbaChanson ArabeAlexander PushkinI Loved You WorkFrancis QuarlesOn the WorldRafi of MervThe Roses of Thy Cheeks Anthony RafteryI Am Raftery Walter RaleighEpitaph Mathurin RegnierHis EpitaphAbraham ReisenHealing Rainer Maria RilkeThe PantherArthur RimbaudDeparture Sensation Theodore RoethkeHeard in a Violent Ward Emile RoumerThe Peasant Declares His Love Conrado Nale RoxloThe Unforseen Rufinus"I am armed with the breastplate of reason" Edna St. Vincent MillayFirst Fig Eel-Grass Lady Otomo no Sakanoye"My heart, thinking" Carl SandburgFog SapphoA Young Bride"My muse, what ails this ardor?"William Shakespeare"Where the bee sucks, there suck I" "Under the greenwood tree""Full fathom five thy father lies"Percy Bysshe ShelleyTo ——Masoka Shiki"Snow’s falling" James ShirleyGood-night On Her DancingPhilip SidneyThe Bargain Iio Sogi "Everything that was" Yamazaki Sokan "O Moon!"Georgios SourisOde to CoffeeGertrude SteinI Am Rose Alan StephensWatching the Shorebirds That Winter Here A Last Time Wallace StevensThe Worms at Heaven’s Gate Anecdote of the Jar Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock The Wind Shifts Strato"How shall I know when the prime""Seek not to hide our love" "How long shall we steal kisses" "Happy little book" "Perchance someone in future years"John SucklingSongJonathan SwiftVerses Made for Women Who Cry Apples, etc.Otomo TabitoIn Praise of Sake Torquato Tasso"I would like to be a bee"Sara TeasdaleThe KissAlfred, Lord Tennyson"Come not, when I am dead" Henry David ThoreauMy Life Has Been the Poem John TodhunterSong Marina Tsvetaeva"I do not think, or argue, or complain" "They fly–quick-wrought and quickly written" "The gypsy passion of parting!"Su Tung-p’oSpring Night On the Birth of His Son Fyodor Tyutchev Holy Russia Paul VerlaineAutumn SongGil VicenteSong Edmund WallerOn a Girdle Wang WeiDeer Fence Duckweed Pond Walt WhitmanThe Last InvocationOscar WildeRequiescat William Carlos WilliamsThe Red Wheelbarrow The Young Housewife Pastoral Willow PoemTo Waken an Old Lady The ThinkerThe Lonely StreetThe Great FigureJohn WilsonPapa’s Alba Three HaikuWilliam Wordsworth"A slumber did my spirit seal"My Heart Leaps Up Emperor Wu-tiLiu Ch’eThe Autumn Wind Li Fu-Jen Otomo Yakamochi"What pain and distress" Mei Yao-ch’enAt Night, Hearing Someone Sing in the House Next Door William Butler YeatsHe Wishes for the Cloths of HeavenA Drinking Song Down by the Salley Gardens Shen YoDreaming of Her BibliographyAlphabetical List of Titles and First Lines