A Seed
A KINDLY act is a kernel sown,
That will grow to a goodly tree,
Shedding its fruit when time has flown
Down the gulf of eternity.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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Distance
THE world is large, when its weary leagues two loving hearts divide;
But the world is small, when your enemy is loose on the other side.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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A Kiss
LOVE is a plant with double root,
And of strange, elastic power:
Men's minds are divided in naming the fruit,
But a kiss is only the flower.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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My Troubles
I WROTE down my troubles every day;
And after a few short years,
When I turned to the heart-aches passed away,
I read them with smiles, not tears.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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Constancy
'You gave me the key of your heart, my love;
Then why do you make me knock?'
'O, that was yesterday, Saints above!
And last night—I changed the lock!'
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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Yes?
THE words of the lips are double or single,
True or false, as we say or sing:
But the words of the eyes that mix and mingle
Are always saying the same old thing!
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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Loving is Dreaming
Life is a certainty,
Death is a doubt;
Men may be dead
While they’re walking about.
Love is as needful
To being as breath;
Loving is dreaming,
And waking is death.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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Trust
A MAN will trust another man, and show
His secret thought and act, as if he must;
A woman—does she tell her sins? Ah, no!
She never knew a woman she could trust.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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A Man
A MAN is not the slave of circumstance,
Or need not be, but builder and dictator;
He makes his own events, not time nor chance;
Their logic his: not creature, but creator.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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Written Under a Portrait of Keats
A GOD-LIKE face, with human love and will
And tender fancy traced in every line:
A god-like face, but oh, how human still!
Dear Keats, who love the gods their love is thine.
poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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