Mad for Poetry

I lived on dread; to those who know    The stimulus there is    In danger, other impetus    Is numb and vital-less.     As ‘t were a spur upon the soul,    A…

 I know that he exists    Somewhere, in silence.    He has hid his rare life    From our gross eyes.     ‘T is an instant’s play,    ‘T is a fond ambush,    Just to…

 I have not told my garden yet,    Lest that should conquer me;    I have not quite the strength now    To break it to the bee.     I will not…

 I have a king who does not speak;    So, wondering, thro’ the hours meek    I trudge the day away,–    Half glad when it is night and sleep,    If, haply,…

I had a guinea golden;    I lost it in the sand,    And though the sum was simple,    And pounds were in the land,    Still had it such a value    Unto…

 I gained it so,    By climbing slow,    By catching at the twigs that grow    Between the bliss and me.    It hung so high,    As well the sky    Attempt by strategy.     I…

   I found the phrase to every thought    I ever had, but one;    And that defies me, — as a hand    Did try to chalk the sun     To races…

 I felt a funeral in my brain,    And mourners, to and fro,    Kept treading, treading, till it seemed    That sense was breaking through.     And when they all were…

 I died for beauty, but was scarce    Adjusted in the tomb,    When one who died for truth was lain    In an adjoining room.     He questioned softly why I…