“The Call” by Charlotte Mew [w/ Audio]

From our low seat beside the fire
Where we have dozed and dreamed and watched the glow
Or raked the ashes, stopping so
We scarcely saw the sun or rain
Above, or looked much higher
Than this same quiet red or burned-out fire.
To-night we heard a call,
A rattle on the window-pane,
A voice on the sharp air,
And felt a breath stirring our hair,
A flame within us: Something swift and tall
Swept in and out and that was all.
Was it a bright or dark angel? Who can know?
It left no mark upon the snow,
But suddenly it snapped the chain
Unbarred, flung wide the door
Which will not shut again;
And so we cannot sit here anymore.
We must arise and go:
The world is cold without
And dark and hedged about
With mystery and enmity and doubt,
But we must go
Though yet we do not know
Who called, or what marks we shall leave upon the snow.

Mole Limerick

There once was a lady with a mole,
And, about it, she was hard to console.
Examples were proffered,
Such as Cindy Crawford.
"But mine is dead, & it dug such fine holes."

Lover’s Limerick

There once was a Shakespearean lover,
Who, in darkness, crawled under cover.
Much to his surprise,
Having no use of eyes,
He later learned 'tweren't his lover, but another.

“Mock on, Mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

Mock on, Mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau;
Mock on, Mock on, 'tis all in vain.
You throw the sand against the wind,
And the wind blows it back again.

And every sand becomes a Gem
Reflected in the beams divine;
Blown back, they blind the mocking Eye,
But still in Israel's paths they shine.

The Atoms of Democritus
And Newton's Particles of light
Are sands upon the Red Sea shore
Where Israel's tents do shine so bright.

Starry Nights [Verse / Free Verse Mutt]

I’m stunned by all the starry nights
Beyond the sprawling city’s lights:
Swirls made of so many colors —
The dark, the light, middling others.

What eternal infinite
Exists out there between
All those stars?

All the dust and nothingness
Of that cold, unbounded expanse
Dances in the hot shell
Of my skull.

“Retort” by Paul Laurence Dunbar [w/ Audio]

"Thou art a fool," said my head to my heart,
"Indeed, the greatest of fools thou art,
To be led astray by the trick of a tress,
By a smiling face or a ribbon smart;"
And my heart was in sore distress.
Then Phyllis came by, and her face was fair,
The light gleamed soft on her raven hair;
And her lips were blooming a rosy red.
Then my heart spoke out with a right bold air:
"Thou art worse than a fool, O head!"

“Drunk in the Fairyland” by Huang Tingjian [w/ Audio]

In the face of heavy morning cloud again
And drizzling evening rain,
Leaning on each other, rugged the hills remain.

The Gorge of Witch and lofty peaks
Lock in the Southern Palace rosy cheeks.

In spring the halberds move in force,
Maids in fair dress welcome heroes on horse,
To the riverside town they go only.

I come to the wasteland a thousand miles away,
With my shadow so lonely.

How can I become cheerful and gay?

It is said the Southern land is so high,
It nearly scrapes the sky.
To the capital I stretch my eye,
I see but misty water far and nigh.

When I drank in the hall,
My friends were talents all.

Songstresses sang with rosy face
And dancers danced with grace,
Drunk, they intoxicated the place.

Hearing the cuckoo's home-going song
All the night long,
Could I resist my yearning strong?

Translation: Xu Yuanchong [translator]. 2021. Deep, Deep the Courtyard. [庭院深深.] Cite Publishing: Kuala Lumpur, pp. 191-192.

“Ode on Solitude” by Alexander Pope [w/ Audio]

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest, who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by the day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease,
Together mixed; sweet recreation;
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” (479) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

Because I could not stop for Death —
He kindly stopped for me —
The Carriage held but just Ourselves —
And Immortality.

We slowly drove — He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labour and my leisure too,
For His Civility —

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess — in the Ring —
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We passed the Setting Sun -

Or rather - He passed us -
The Dews drew quivering and chill -
For only Gossamer, my Gown -
My Tippet - only Tulle -

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground -
The Roof was scarcely visible -
The Cornice - in the Ground-

Since then - ‘tis Centuries - and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses’ Heads
Were toward Eternity -

“There was a little girl” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [w/ Audio]

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.