Edwin Markham - 3 Poems

The Avengers
The laws are the secret avengers,
And they rule above all lands;
They come on wool-soft sandals,
But they strike with iron hands

Outwitted
He drew a circle that shut me out
—Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!

Preparedness
For all your days prepare,
And meet them ever alike:
When you are the anvil, bear
—When you are the hammer, Strike.

John Donne

Holy Sonnet XIV: Batter my heart

Batter my heart, three-personed God; for You
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me,'and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to'another due,
Labor to'admit You, but O, to no end;
Reason, Your viceroy'in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly'I love You,'and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto Your enemy.
Divorce me,'untie or break that knot again;
Take me to You, imprison me, for I
Except You'enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me.

Frieze Fire - Nadia

Moments flicker by
like fading F i r e f l i e s
frieze them in amber
-- wisps of light that wanted to die

Richard Lovelace

To Lucasta. Going To the Warres.

I.
Tell me not, (sweet,) I am unkinde,
That from the nunnerie
Of thy chaste breast and quiet minde
To warre and armes I flie.

II.
True: a new Mistresse now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith imbrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.

III.
Yet this inconstancy is such,
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Lov'd I not Honour more.

Fin de Siecle - Nadia

I praise God for your beauty and subtle grace

For the pleasure of your presence in this world

I thank Him for your blessed face

Your energy that renews this place

Like a blue silk flag unfurled

Hell fairies - Nadia

Burn flame burn !
Feed my soul's quick light
With stolen fires
Of delight

Ringlets of longing
steeped in soft subtle dreaming
Buttressed by the shiny
papers that the natives
find to paste the soul

's gaping abyss of dark and noxious paths

All the while
raising heated fumes from the soul's
once-moderate and muted grace

Poetic -Nadia

Words are like
many colored ribbons
lying in wait
to be woven in subtlety

Lordly Decay - Nadia

They are kings of the dying earth
Riding high on the bones of the dead

Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair

as sung by Nina Simone
Black is the color of my true love's hair
His face so soft and wondrous fair
The purest eyes and the strongest hands
I love the ground on where he stands
I love the ground on where he stands
Black is the color of my true love's hair
Of my true love's hair
Of my true love's hair

Oh I love my lover and where he goes
yes, I love the ground on where he goes
And still I hope that the time will come
when he and I will be as one
when he and I will be as one
So black is the color of my true love's hair
Black is the color of my true love's hair
Black is the color of my true love's hair

As Winds That Blow Against A Star - Joyce Kilmer

Now by what whim of wanton chance
Do radiant eyes know sombre days?
And feet that shod in light should dance
Walk weary and laborious ways?

But rays from Heaven, white and whole,
May penetrate the gloom of earth;
And tears but nourish, in your soul,
The glory of celestial mirth.

The darts of toil and sorrow, sent
Against your peaceful beauty, are
As foolish and as impotent
As winds that blow against a star.