Best of Peotry

8/9/2019 Best of Peotry

1/27

DevotionThe heart can think of no devotionGreater than being shore to ocean -Holding the curve of one position,Counting an endless repetition.

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also greatAnd would suffice.

Robert Frost

Come In

As I came to the edge of the woods,

Thrush

music -- hark!

Now if it was dusk outside,

Inside it was dark.

Too dark in the woods for a bird

By sleight of wing

To better its perch for the night,

Though it still could sing.

The last of the light of the sun

That had died in the west

Still lived for one song moreIn a thrush's breast.

Far in the pillared dark

Thrush music went --

Almost like a call to come in

To the dark and lament.

But no, I was out for stars;


2/27

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Still I Rise

You@

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eset witG

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ot oilwells

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ertaintyof tides,

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ll rise.

Didyouwant toseemeI

roken?

Bowedheadand loweredeyes?

Shoulders fallingdown like teardrops.

WeakenedIymysoulful

U

ries.


3/27

Doesmyhaughtinessoffendyou?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I'vegot goldmines

Diggin' inmyownV

ackyard.

Youmayshoot mewithyourwords,Youmaycut mewithyoureyes,

Youmaykill mewithyourhatefulness,

But still, likeair, I'll rise.

Doesmysexinessupset you?

Does it comeasasurpriseW

hat I dance like I'vegot diamonds

At themeetingofmy thighs?

Out of thehutsofhistory'sshame

I rise

Up fromapast that'srooted inpain

I rise

I'maV

lackocean, leapingandwide,

Wellingandswelling IV

earin the tide.

LeavingV

ehindnightsof terrorand fear

I rise

Intoadaybreak that'swondrouslyclear

I rise

Bringing thegifts that myancestorsgave,

I am thedreamand thehopeof theslave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

Maya Angelou

We Are Seven

William Wordsworth (1798)

--------A simple Child,

That lightly draws its breath,

And feels its life in every limb,


4/27

What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage Girl:

She was eight years old, she said;

Her hair was thick with many a curl

That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,

And she was wildly clad:

Her eyes were fair, and very fair;

--Her beauty made me glad.

Sisters and brothers, little Maid,

How many may you be?

How many? Seven in all, she said

And wondering looked at me.

And where are they? I pray you tell.

She answered, Seven are we;

And two of us at Conway dwell,

And two are gone to sea.

Two of us in the church-yard lie,

My sister and my brother;

And, in the church-yard cottage, I

Dwell near them with my mother.

You say that two at Conway dwell,

And two are gone to sea,

Yet ye are seven!--I pray you tell,Sweet Maid, how this may be.

Then did the little Maid reply,

Seven boys and girls are we;

Two of us in the church-yard lie,

Beneath the church-yard tree.

You run about, my little Maid,

Your limbs they are alive;

If two are in the church-yard laid,

Then ye are only five.

Their graves are green, they may be seen,

The little Maid replied,

Twelve steps or more from my mothers door,

And they are side by side.

My stockings there I often knit,

My kerchief there I hem;


5/27

And there upon the ground I sit,

And sing a song to them.

And often after sunset, Sir,

When it is light and fair,

I take my little porringer,

And eat my supper there.

The first that died was sister Jane;

In bed she moaning lay,

Till God released her of her pain;

And then she went away.

So in the church-yard she was laid;

And, when the grass was dry,

Together round her grave we played,

My brother John and I.

And when the ground was white with snow,

And I could run and slide,

My brother John was forced to go,

And he lies by her side.

How many are you, then, said I,

If they two are in heaven?

Quick was the little Maids reply,

O Master! we are seven.

But they are dead; those two are dead!

Their spirits are in heaven!Twas throwing words away; for still

The little Maid would have her will,

And said, Nay, we are seven!

i carry your heart with mei carry your heart with me (i carry it inmy heart) i am never without it (anywherei go you go, my dear; and whatever is doneby only me is your doing, my darling)

i fearno fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i wantno world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)and it's you are whatever a moon has always meantand whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud


6/27

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which growshigher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Weep You No More, Sad FountainsWeep you no more, sad fountains;What need you flow so fast?

Look how the snowy mountainsHeaven's sun doth gently waste.

But my sun's heavenly eyesView not your weeping,That now lies sleepingSoftly, now softly lies

Sleeping.

Sleep is a reconciling,A rest that peace begets:

Doth not the sun rise smilingWhen fair at even he sets?

Rest you then, rest, sad eyes,Melt not in weeping,While she lies sleepingSoftly, now softly lies

Sleeping.

At the Theatre: To the Lady Behind Me

Dear Madam, you have seen this play;

I never saw it till today.

You know the details of the plot,But, let me tell you, I do not.

The author seeks to keep from me

The murderer's identity,

And you are not a friend of his

If you keep shouting who it is.

The actors in their funny way

Have several funny things to say,

But they do not amuse me more

If you have said them just before;

The merit of the drama lies,

I understand, in some surprise;

But the surprise must now be smallSince you have just foretold it all.

The lady you have brought with you

Is, I infer, a half-wit too,

But I can understand the piece

Without assistance from your niece.

In short, foul woman, it would suit

Me just as well if you were mute;

In fact, to make my meaning plain,


7/27

I trust you will not speak again.

And-may I add one human touch?-

Don't breathe upon my neck so much.

A P Herbert

HimselfLast night, when I was listenin

Alone, to wind and rain,

He took the chair beside me,

Himself - come home again.

His kind blue eyes were smilin

Beneath his thatch of grey,

He laid his hand on my hand,

The ould sweetheartin way.

I pressed my cheek upon it,

Remembering bitterly

The times he faced his daily toil

Without one smile from me.

And yet, his meals were always good,

His clothes well kept and clean,

The neighbours, sure, will tell you,

The splendid wife Ive been.

But in Lifes stress and struggle,

We somehow, grew apart,

You know these Irish mothers,

'Tis the childer has their heart.

And he grew grim, and close-lipped,

And harder, day by day,

Poor man - too tired for laughter,

Too worried to be gay.

But - how his care enclosed us,

For all he was so grim,

The very rafters of our home

Were cut and laid by him.

And I, that might have cheered him,

The bitter words I said,

Oh! God, that we remember,

Only when they are dead.

But now - my arms were round him,

The room seemed full of flowers,


8/27

And Youth came back and sunshine,

That glorious time was ours.

The firelight flamed and flickered,

The embers fell apart,

I woke to empty silence,

With sorrow at my heart.

The wild winds brought the morning,

The dawn was red and chill,

And Himself was lyin sleepin

In the graveyard on the hill!

Alice

Here I Love YouHere I love you.

In the dark pines the wind disentangles itself.

The moon glows like phosphorous on the vagrant waters.

Days, all one kind, go chasing each other.

The snow unfurls in dancing figures.

A silver gull slips down from the west.

Sometimes a sail. High, high stars.

Oh the black cross of a ship.

Alone.

Sometimes I get up early and even my soul is wet.

Far away the sea sounds and resounds.

This is a port.

Here I love you.

Here I love you and the horizon hides you in vain.

I love you still among these cold things.

Sometimes my kisses go on those heavy vessels

that cross the sea towards no arrival.

I see myself forgotten like those old anchors.

The piers sadden when the afternoon moors there.

My life grows tired, hungry to no purpose.I love what I do not have. You are so far.

My loathing wrestles with the slow twilights.

But night comes and starts to sing to me.

The moon turns its clockwork dream.

The biggest stars look at me with your eyes.

And as I love you, the pines in the wind


9/27

want to sing your name with their leaves of wire.

Pablo Neruda

Sonnet 116: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds..."Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Sigh No MoreSigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,

Men were deceivers ever;

One foot in sea, and one on shore,

To one thing constant never.

Then sigh not so,

But let them go,

And be you blith and bonny,

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no mo

Of dumps so dull and heavy;

The fraud of men was ever so,

Since summer first was leavy.

Then sigh not so,

But let them go,

And be you blith and bonny,

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into Hey nonny, nonny.


10/27

The DoctorThe doctor took my shirt away;

He did it for the best;

He said, "It's very cold today,"And took away my vest;

Then, having nothing more to say,

He hit me in the chest.

Oh, he did clout my ribs about

Till I was bruised and red,

Then stood and listened to my spine

To see if I was dead,

And when I shouted "Ninety-nine!"

He simply shook his head.

He rather thought that rain would fall,

He made me hop about the hall,

And savagely he said,"There's nothing wrong with you at all

You'd better go to bed!

"Oh you must eat no scrap of meat,

No rabbit, bird, or fish;

Apart from that have what you please,

But no potato, bread, or cheese;

Not butter, alcohol, or peas;

Not sausage, egg, and ratafias

A very starchy dish;

Have any other foods but these

HAVE ANYTHING YOUW

ISH!But at and after every meal,

And twice an hour between,

Take this and this and this and THIS

In water and quinine,

And wash it down with liquorice

And nitro-glycerine.

"You must not smoke, or read a book,

You must not eat or drink;

You must not bicycle or run,

You must not talk to anyone;

It's better not to think.

A daily bath I don't advise;

It's dangerous to snore;

But let your life be otherwise

As active as before.

And don't imagine you are ill,

I beg you not to mope;

There's nothing wrong with you but still,

While there is life, there's hope."


11/27

I woke and screamed a hideous scream

As greedy children do

Who eat too much vanilla cream

For I was having 'flu;

And it was just an awful dream

But, all the same, it's true.

CinderellaI guess you think you know this story.

You don't. The real one's much more gory.The phoney one, the one you know,

Was cooked up years and years ago,

And made to sound all soft and sappy

just to keep the children happy.

Mind you, they got the first bit right,

The bit where, in the dead of night,

The Ugly Sisters, jewels and all,

Departed for the Palace Ball,

While darling little Cinderella

Was locked up in a slimy cellar,

Where rats who wanted things to eat,

Began to nibble at her feet.

She bellowed 'Help!' and 'Let me out!

The Magic Fairy heard her shout.

Appearing in a blaze of light,

She said: 'My dear, are you all right?'

'All right?' cried Cindy .'Can't you see

'I feel as rotten as can be!'

She beat her fist against the wall,

And shouted, 'Get me to the Ball!

'There is a Disco at the Palace!

'The rest have gone and I am jealous!

'I want a dress! I want a coach!

'And earrings and a diamond brooch!

'And silver slippers, two of those!

'And lovely nylon panty hose!

'Done up like that I'll guarantee

'The handsome Prince will fall for me!'

The Fairy said, 'Hang on a tick.'

She gave her wand a mighty flick

And quickly, in no time at all,


12/27

Cindy was at the Palace Ball!

It made the Ugly Sisters wince

To see her dancing with the Prince.

She held him very tight and pressed

herself against his manly chest.

The Prince himself was turned to pulp,All he could do was gasp and gulp.

Then midnight struck. She shouted,'Heck!

I've got to run to save my neck!'

The Prince cried, 'No! Alas! Alack!'

He grabbed her dress to hold her back.

As Cindy shouted, 'Let me go!'

The dress was ripped from head to toe.

She ran out in her underwear,

And lost one slipper on the stair.

The Prince was on it like a dart,

He pressed it to his pounding heart,

'The girl this slipper fits,' he cried,

'Tomorrow morn shall be my bride!

I'll visit every house in town

'Until I've tracked the maiden down!'

Then rather carelessly, I fear,

He placed it on a crate of beer.

At once, one of the Ugly Sisters,

(The one whose face was blotched with blisters)

Sneaked up and grabbed the dainty shoe,

And quickly flushed it down the loo.

Then in its place she calmly put

The slipper from her own left foot.

Ah ha, you see, the plot grows thicker,

And Cindy's luck starts looking sicker.

Next day, the Prince went charging down

To knock on all the doors in town.

In every house, the tension grew.

Who was the owner of the shoe?

The shoe was long and very wide.

(A normal foot got lost inside.)

Also it smelled a wee bit icky.

(The owner's feet were hot and sticky.)

Thousands of eager people cameTo try it on, but all in vain.

Now came the Ugly Sisters' go.

One tried it on. The Prince screamed, 'No!'

But she screamed, 'Yes! It fits! Whoopee!

'So now you've got to marry me!'

The Prince went white from ear to ear.

He muttered, 'Let me out of here.'

'Oh no you don't! You made a vow!


13/27

'There's no way you can back out now!'

'Off with her head!'The Prince roared back.

They chopped it off with one big whack.

This pleased the Prince. He smiled and said,

'She's prettier without her head.'

Then up came Sister Number Two,

Who yelled, 'Now I will try the shoe!'

'Try this instead!' the Prince yelled back.

He swung his trusty sword and smack

Her head went crashing to the ground.

It bounced a bit and rolled around.

In the kitchen, peeling spuds,

Cinderella heard the thuds

Of bouncing heads upon the floor,

And poked her own head round the door.

'What's all the racket? 'Cindy cried.

'Mind your own bizz,' the Prince replied.

Poor Cindy's heart was torn to shreds.

My Prince! she thought. He chops off heads!

How could I marry anyone

Who does that sort of thing for fun?

The Prince cried, 'Who's this dirty slut?

'Off with her nut! Off with her nut!'

Just then, all in a blaze of light,

The Magic Fairy hove in sight,

Her Magic Wand went swoosh and swish!

'Cindy! 'she cried, 'come make a wish!

'Wish anything and have no doubt

'That I will make it come about!'

Cindy answered, 'Oh kind Fairy,

'This time I shall be more wary.

'No more Princes, no more money.

'I have had my taste of honey.

I'm wishing for a decent man.

'They're hard to find. D'you think you can?'

Within a minute, Cinderella

Was married to a lovely feller,

A simple jam maker by trade,

Who sold good home-made marmalade.

Their house was filled with smiles and laughter

And they were happy ever after.


14/27

My CreedTo live as gently as I can;

To be, no matter where, a man;

To take what comes of good or ill

And cling to faith and honor still;

To do my best, and let that standThe record of my brain and hand;And then, should failure come to me,

Still work and hope for victory.

To have no secret place whereinI stoop unseen to shame or sin;

To be the same when I'm aloneAs when my every deed is known;

To live undaunted, unafraidOf any step that I have made;

To be without pretense or sham

Exactly what men think I am.

To leave some simple mark behind

To keep my having lived in mind;If enmity to aught I show,

To be an honest, generous foe,

To play my little part, nor whineThat greater honors are not mine.

This, I believe, is all I needFor my philosophy and creed.

RiskAnd then the day came,

when the risk

to remain tight

in a bud

was more painful

than the risk

it took

to blossom.

Bluebirdthere's a bluebird in my heart that

wants to get out

but I'm too tough for him,

I say, stay in there, I'm not going

to let anybody see

you.


15/27

there's a bluebird in my heart that

wants to get out

but I pour whiskey on him and inhale

cigarette smoke

and the whores and the bartenders

and the grocery clerks

never know that

he's

in there.


wants to get out

but I'm too tough for him,

I say,

stay down, do you want to mess

me up?

you want to screw up the

works?

you want to blow my book sales in

Europe?


wants to get out

but I'm too clever, I only let him out

at night sometimes

when everybody's asleep.

I say, I know that you're there,

so don't be

sad.

then I put him back,

but he's singing a little

in there, I haven't quite let him

die

and we sleep together like

that

with our

secret pact

and it's nice enough to

make a man

weep, but I don't

weep, doyou?


16/27

The Crunchtoo

Xuchtoolittle

too fattoothinor nobody.

laughterortears

haterslovers

strangers with faceslikethe backsofthumbtacks

armiesrunningthroughstreetsofbloodwaving winebottlesbayonetingand fucking

virgins.

an oldguyin acheaproomwithaphotographof M. Monroe.

there isalonelinessin this worldsogreatthatyoucan see itin the slow movementofthe handsofaclock

people sotiredmutilatedeitherbylove or nolove.

people justare notgoodto eachother

one on one.

the richare notgoodtothe richthe poorare notgoodtothe poor.

we are afraid.

our educationalsystemtellsusthat we can allbebig-ass winners

ithasn'ttoldusaboutthe guttersorthe suicides.

orthe terrorofone personachingin one placealone

untouchedunspoken to

wateringaplant.

people are notgoodto eachother.


17/27

people are notgoodto eachother.people are notgoodto eachother.

I suppose they never willbe.I don'taskthemtobe.

butsometimes I thinkabout

it.

the beads willswingthe clouds willcloudandthe killer willbeheadthe childlike takingabite outofan ice creamcone.

toomuchtoolittle

too fattoothinor nobody

more hatersthan lovers.

people are notgoodto eachother.perhapsifthey wereourdeaths would notbe sosad.

meanwhile I lookatyounggirlsstemsflowersofchance.

there mustbe a way.

surelythere mustbe a waythat we have notyetthoughof.

whoputthisbrain inside ofme?

itcriesitdemandsitsaysthatthere isachance.

it will notsay

"no."


18/27

Little Red Riding Hood and the WolfAs soon as Wolf began to feel

That he would like a decent meal,

He went and knocked on Grandma's door.

When Grandma opened it, she saw

The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin,

And Wolfie said, "May I come in?"

Poor Grandmamma was terrified,

"He's going to eat me up!" she cried.

And she was absolutely right.

He ate her up in one big bite.

But Grandmamma was small and tough,

And Wolfie wailed, "That's not enough!

I haven't yet begun to feel

That I have had a decent meal!"He ran around the kitchen yelping,

"I've got to have a second helping!"

Then added with a frightful leer,

"I'm therefore going to wait right here

Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood

Comes home from walking in the wood."

He quickly put on Grandma's clothes,

(Of course he hadn't eaten those).

He dressed himself in coat and hat.He put on shoes, and after that,

He even brushed and curled his hair,

Then sat himself in Grandma's chair.

In came the little girl in red.

She stopped. She stared. And then she said,

"What great big ears you have, Grandma."

"All the better to hear you with,"

the Wolf replied.

"What great big eyes you have, Grandma."

said Little Red Riding Hood."All the better to see you with,"

the Wolf replied.

He sat there watching her and smiled.

He thought, I'm going to eat this child.

Compared with her old Grandmamma,

She's going to taste like caviar.


19/27

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, "

But Grandma, what a lovely great big

furry coat you have on."

"That's wrong!" cried Wolf.

"Have you forgot

To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?

Ah well, no matter what you say,

I'm going to eat you anyway."

The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.

She whips a pistol from her knickers.

She aims it at the creature's head,

And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.

A few weeks later, in the wood,

I came across Miss Riding Hood.

But what a change! No cloak of red,

No silly hood upon her head.

She said, "Hello, and do please note

My lovely furry wolfskin coat."

FeelingsThere must be a wound!

No one can be this hurt

and not bleed.

How could she injure me so?

No marks

No bruises

Worse!

People say 'My, you're looking well'

..God help me!

She's mummified me -

ALIVE!


20/27

The Rose That Grew From ConcreteDid you hear about the rose that grew

from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature's law is wrong it

learned to walk with out having feet.

Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,

it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else ever cared.

After Great Pain, a Formal Feeling Comes

Emily Dickinson

After great pain, a formal feeling comesThe Nerves sit ceremonious, like TombsThe stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,

And Yesterday, or Centuries before?

The Feet, mechanical, go round

Of Ground, or Air, or OughtA Wooden wayRegardless grown,

A Quartz conThis is the Hour of LeadRemembered, if outlived,As Freezing persons recollect the SnowFirst-Chill-then Stupor-then the letting go tentment, like a stone

Annabel Lee

Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,In a kingdom by the sea,That a maiden there lived whom you may knowBy the name of ANNABEL LEE;

And this maiden she lived with no other thoughtThan to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,In this kingdom by the sea;But we loved with a love that was more than love

I and my Annabel Lee;With a love that the winged seraphs of heavenCoveted her and me.


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And this was the reason that, long ago,In this kingdom by the sea,A wind blew out of a cloud, chillingMy beautiful Annabel Lee;So that her highborn kinsman came

And bore her away from me,To shut her up in a sepulchreIn this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,Went envying her and meYes! that was the reason (as all men know,In this kingdom by the sea)That the wind came out of the cloud by night,Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the

loveOf those who were older than weOf many far wiser than we

And neither the angels in heaven above,Nor the demons down under the sea,Can ever dissever my soul from the soulOf the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreamsOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyesOf the beautiful Annabel Lee;And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the sideOf my darling - my darling - my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,In her tomb by the sounding sea

A Poison Tree

William BlakeI was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe;

I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I water'd it in fears,Night & morning with my tears;

And I sunned it with my smilesAnd with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,Till it bore an apple bright;


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And my foe beheld it shine,And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stoleWhen the night had veil'd the pole:In the morning glad I seeMy foe outstretch'd beneath the tree

Home They Brought HerWarrior Dead

Alfred Lord TennysonHome they brought her warrior dead:

She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:All her maidens, watching, said,

'She must weep or she will die.'

Then they praised him, soft and low,Called him worthy to be loved,

Truest friend and noblest foe;Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,Lightly to the warrior stepped,Took the face-cloth from the face;Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,

Set his child upon her knee--Like summer tempest came her tears--'Sweet my child, I live for thee.'

XLIII. "How do I love thee? Let me count

the ways..."by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)Howdo I love thee? Let mecount theways. I love thee to thedepthandbreadthandheight Mysoul canreach, when feelingout ofsight ortheendsof Beingand ideal race.

I love thee to the level ofeveryday'sMost quiet need, bysunandcandle -light.I love thee freely, asmenstrive for ight; I love theepurely, as they turn from Praise.


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I love theewithapassionput touse Inmyoldgriefs, andwithmychildhood's faith. I love theewitha love I seemed to loseWithmy lost saints, --- I love theewith thebreath, Smiles, tears, ofall my life! ---and, if odchoose, I shall but love theebetterafterdeath.

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Emily DickinsonBecause I could not stop for Death

He kindly stopped for me

The Carriage held but just OurselvesAnd Immortality.

We slowly droveHe knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,

For His Civility

We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recessin the RingWe passed the fields of Gazing Grain

We passed the Setting Sun

Or ratherHe passed Us

The Dews drew quivering and chillFor only Gossamer, my GownMy Tippetonly Tulle

We paused before a House that seemedA Swelling of the GroundThe Roof was scarcely visibleThe Cornicein the Ground

Since then'tis Centuriesand yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses' Heads

Were toward Eternity


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Alone

Edgar Allan Poe

From childhood's hour I have not been

As others were; I have not seen

As others saw; I could not bring

My passions from a common spring.

From the same source I have not taken

My sorrow; I could not awaken

My heart to joy at the same tone;

And all I loved, I loved alone.

Then - in my childhood, in the dawn

Of a most stormy life - was drawn

From every depth of good and ill

The mystery which binds me still:

From the torrent, or the fountain,

From the red cliff of the mountain,From the sun that round me rolled

In its autumn tint of gold,

From the lightning in the sky

As it passed me flying by,

From the thunder and the storm,

And the cloud that took the form

(When the rest of Heaven was blue)

Of a demon in my view.

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The Light That Failed

by Rudyard Kipling(1865-1936)

Chapter 7

Roses red and roses white

Plucked I for my love's delight.She would none of all my posies,--Bade me gather her blue roses.

Half the world I wandered through,Seeking where such flowers grew;

Half the world unto my questAnswered but with laugh and jest.

It may be beyond the grave

She shall find what she would have.

Mine was but an idle quest,--Roses white and red are best! -- Blue Roses.

THE SEA had not changed. Its waters were low on the mud-banks, and theMarazion Bell-buoy clanked and swung in the tide-way. On the white beach-sanddried stumps of sea-poppy shivered and chattered.

'I don't see the old breakwater,' said Maisie, under her breath.

'Let's be thankful that we have as much as we have. I don't believe they've

mounted a single new gun on the fort since we were here. Come and look.'

They came to the glacis of Fort Keeling, and sat down in a nook sheltered from

the wind under the tarred throat of a forty-pounder cannon.

'Now, if Ammoma were only here!' said Maisie.

For a long time both were silent. Then Dick took Maisie's hand and called her by

her name.

She shook her head and looked out to sea.

'Maisie, darling, doesn't it make any difference?'

'No!' between clenched teeth. 'I'd--I'd tell you if it did; but it doesn't, Oh, Dick,please be sensible.'


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'Don't you think that it ever will?'

'No, I'm sure it won't.'

'Why?'

Maisie rested her chin on her hand, and, still regarding the sea, spoke hurriedly--

'I know what you want perfectly well, but I can't give it to you, Dick. It isn't myfault; indeed, it isn't. If I felt that I could care for any one---- But I don't feel that

I care. I simply don't understand what the feeling means.'

'Is that true, dear?'

'You've been very good to me, Dickie; and the only way I can pay you back is byspeaking the truth. I daren't tell a fib. I despise myself quit enough as it is.'

'What in the world for?'

'Because--because I take everything that you give me and I give you nothing in

return. It's mean and selfish of me, and whenever I think of it it worries me.'

'Understand once for all, then, that I can manage my own affairs, and if I choose

to do anything you aren't to blame. You haven't a single thing to reproachyourself with, darling.'

'Yes, I have, and talking only makes it worse.'

'Then don't talk about it.'

'How can I help myself? If you find me alone for a minute you are always talking

about it; and when you aren't you look it. You don't know how I despise myself

sometimes.'

'Great goodness!' said Dick, nearly jumping to his feet. 'Speak the truth now,

Maisie, if you never speak it again! Do I--does this worrying bore you?'

'No. It does not.'

'You'd tell me if it did?'

'I should let you know, I think.'

'Thank you. The other thing is fatal. But you must learn to forgive a man whenhe's in love. He's always a nuisance. You must have known that?'

Maisie did not consider the last question worth answering, and Dick was forced torepeat it.


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'There were other men, of course. They always worried just when I was in themiddle of my work, and wanted me to listen to them.'

'Did you listen?'

'At first; and they couldn't understand why I didn't care. And they used to praise

my pictures; and I thought they meant it. I used to be proud of the praise, andtell Kami, and--I shall never forget--once Kami laughed at me.'

'You don't like being laughed at, Maisie, do you?'

'I hate it. I never laugh at other people unless--unless they do bad work. Dick,

tell me honestly what you think of my pictures generally,--of everything of mine

that you've seen.'

Ifyoureawoman, yourBM Y isequal to: 655 + (4.35 x weight inpounds) + (4.7 x height

in inches)- (4.7 x age inyears). orexample, ifyoure 130 pounds, 53, and 36, your

BMY

is 665 + (4.35 x 130) + (4.7 x 63) (4.7 x 36) = 1357.4 calories.a ext figureout your total dailycalorierequirement bymultiplyingyourBM Y byyour level

ofactivity:

Ifyourarelyexercise, multiplyyourBM Y by 1.2.

Ifyouexerciseon 1 to 3 daysperweek, doing light activity, multiplyyourBM Y by 1.375.

Ifyouexerciseon 3 to 5 daysperweek, doingmoderateactivity, multiplyyourBM Y by

1.55.

Ifyouexercise 6 to 7 daysperweek, doingvigorousactivity, multiplyyourBM Y by

1.725.

Ifyouexerciseeverydayandhaveaphysical jobor ifyouoftenexercise twiceaday,

multiply

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