Lines For A Sun-Dial

With shadowy pen I write,
Till time be done,
Good news of some strange light,
Some far off sun.

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

To The R.A.F

Never since English ships went out
To singe the beard of Spain,
Or English sea-dogs hunted death
Along the Spanish Main,
Never since Drake and Raleigh won
Our freedom of the seas,
Have sons of Britain dared and done
More valiantly than these.

Whether at midnight or at noon,
Through mist or open sky,
Eagles of freedom, all our hearts
Are up with you on high;
While Britain's mighty ghosts look down
From realms beyond the sun
And whisper, as their record pales,
Their breathless, deep, Well Done!

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The Symphony

Wonder in happy eyes
Fades, fades away:
And the angel-coloured skies
Whisper farewell.

Loveliness over the strings of the heart may stray
In fugitive melodies;
But Oh, the hand of the Master must not stay,
Even for a breath;

For to prolong one joy, or even to dwell
On one rich chord of pain,
Beyond the pulse of the song, would untune heaven
And drown the stars in death.

So youth with its love-note dies;
And beauty fades in the air,
To make the master-symphony immortal,
And find new life and deeper wonder there.

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Riddles Of Merlin

As I was walking
Alone by the sea,
'_What is that whisper?_'
Said Merlin to me.
'Only,' I answered,
'The sigh of the wave'--
'_Oh, no_,' replied Merlin,
'_'Tis the grass on your grave_.'

As I lay dreaming
In churchyard ground
'_Listen_,' said Merlin,
'_What is that sound_?'
'The green grass is growing,'
I answered; but he
Chuckled, '_Oh, no!
'Tis the sound of the sea_.'

As I went homeward
At dusk by the shore,

[...] Read more

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Shakespeare's Kingdom

When Shakespeare came to London
He met no shouting throngs;
He carried in his knapsack
A scroll of quiet songs.

No proud heraldic trumpet
Acclaimed him on his way;
Their court and camp have perished;
The songs live on for ay.

Nobody saw or heard them,
But, all around him there,
Spirits of light and music
Went treading the April air.

He passed like any pedlar,
Yet he had wealth untold.
The galleons of th' armada
Could not contain his gold.

[...] Read more

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Fishers Of Men

Long, long ago, He said,
He who could wake the dead
And walk upon the sea-

'Come, follow Me.

Leave your brown nets and bring
Only your hearts to sing,
Only your souls to pray,
Rise, come away.

Shake out your spirit-sails,
And brave those wilder gales,
And I will make you then
Fishers of men.'

Was this, then, what He meant?
Was this His high intent,
After two thousand years

[...] Read more

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Nippon

Last night, I dreamed of Nippon....
I saw a cloud of white
Drifting before the sunset
On seas of opal light.

Beyond the wide Pacific
I saw its mounded snow
Miraculously changing
In that deep evening glow,

To rosy rifts and hillocks,
To orchards that I knew,
To snows of peach and cherry,
And feathers of bamboo.

I saw, on twisted bridges,
In blue and crimson gleams,
The lanterns of the fishers,
Along the brook of dreams.

[...] Read more

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Daddy Fell into the Pond.

Everyone grumbled. The sky was grey.

We had nothing to do and nothing to say.

We were nearing the end of a dismal day,

And there seemed to be nothing beyond,

THEN

Daddy fell into the pond!

And everyone's face grew merry and bright,

And Timothy danced for sheer delight.

"Give me the camera, quick, oh quick!

[...] Read more

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Immortal Sails

Now, in a breath, we’ll burst those gates of gold,
And ransack heaven before our moment fails.
Now, in a breath, before we, too, grow old,
We’ll mount and sing and spread immortal sails.

It is not time that makes eternity.
Love and an hour may quite out-span the years,
And give us more to hear and more to see
Than life can wash away with all its tears.

Dear, when we part, at last, that sunset sky
Shall not be touched with deeper hues than this;
But we shall ride the lightning ere we die
And seize our brief infinitude of bliss,

With time to spare for all that heaven can tell,
While eyes meet eyes, and look their last farewell.

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Poetry Lover
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

The People's Fleet

Out of her darkened fishing-ports they go,
A fleet of little ships, whose every name--
_Daffodil_, _Sea-lark_, _Rose_ and _Surf_ and _Snow_,
Burns in this blackness like an altar-flame;

Out of her past they sail, three thousand strong,
The people's fleet that never knew its worth,
And every name is a broken phrase of song
To some remembered loveliness on earth.

There's _Barbara Cowie_, _Comely Bank_ and _May_,
Christened, at home, in worlds of dawn and dew:
There's _Ruth_ and _Kindly Light_ and _Robin Gray_
With _Mizpah_. (May that simple prayer come true!)

Out of old England's inmost heart they sail,
A fleet of memories that can never fail.

poem by Alfred Noyes
Added by Dan Costinaş
Comment! | Vote! | Copy! | In Romanian