Textarchiv - Bliss Carman

Of the whole year, I think, I love

mrbot — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 21:10:07 +0000

Of the whole year, I think, I love
The best that time we used to call
The Little Summer of All Saints,
About the middle of the fall,

Because there fell the golden days
Of that gold year beside the sea,
When first I had you at heart's will,
And you had your whole will of me.

It is the being's afternoon,
The second summer of the soul,
When spirits find a way to reach
Beyond the sense and its control.

Then come the firmamental days,
The underseason of the year,
When God himself, being well content,
Takes time to whisper in our ear.

Sweetheart, once more by every sign
Of blade and shadow, it must be
The Little Summer of All Saints
In the red Autumn by the sea.

Bliss Carman

1904

In the blue mystery of the April woods

mrbot — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 21:10:10 +0000

In the blue mystery of the April woods,
Thy spirit now
Makes musical the rainbird's interludes,
And pink the peach-tree bough.

In the new birth of all things bright and fair,
'Tis only thou
Art very April, glory, light and air,
And joy and ardour now!

Bliss Carman

1904

Once when the winds of spring came home

mrbot — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 21:10:02 +0000

Once when the winds of spring came home
From the far countries where they roam,
I heard them tell
Of things I could not understand,
And strange adventures in a land
Where all was well.

I do not wonder any more
What Autumn at his open door
Is dreaming of;
I am so happy to have done
With all the things underneath the sun
Save only love.

Bliss Carman

1904

What will the Angel of the Morning say

mrbot — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 21:10:08 +0000

What will the Angel of the Morning say,
Relieving guard?
"Night, who hath passed thy way
To the Palace Yard?"
And Night will make reply,
"Only two springtime lovers sought
The King's reward."

Then will the Angel of the Morning say,
"What said the King?"
"The King said nought, but smiled
And took his ring
And gave it to the man,
And set him in his stead for one
Sweet day of spring."

Then will the Angel of the Morning say,
With grave regard,
"Pass, Night, and leave the gate
For once unbarred.
I serve the lover now;
He shall be free of all the earth
For his reward."

Bliss Carman

1904

The mountain ways one summer

mrbot — Tue, 25 Dec 2018 21:10:02 +0000

The mountain ways one summer
Saw joy and life go past,
When we who fared so lonely
Were hand in hand at last.

Till over us the pine woods
Their purple shadows cast,
And the tall twilight laid us
Hot mouth to mouth at last.

O hills, beneath your slumber,
Or pines, below your blast,
Make room for your two children,
Cold cheek to cheek at last!

Bliss Carman

1904

I see the golden hunter go

mrbot — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 21:10:01 +0000

I see the golden hunter go,
With his hound star close at heel,
Through purple fallows above the hill,
When the large autumn night is still
And the tide of the world is low.

And while to their unwearied quest
The sister Pleiads pass,
That seventh loveliest and lost
Desire of all the orient host
Is here upon my breast.

Bliss Carman

1904

I know how the great and golden sun

mrbot — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 21:10:09 +0000

I know how the great and golden sun
Will come up out of the sea,
Stride in to shore
And up to her door,
To touch her hand and her hair,
With so much more than a man can say,
Bidding Yvonne good day.

I know how the great and quiet moon
Will come up out of the sea,
And climb the hill
To her window-sill
And enter all silently,
And lie on her little cot so white,
Kissing Yvonne good night.

I know how the great and countless stars
Will come up out of the sea,
To keep their guard
By her still dooryard,
Lest the soul of Yvonne should stray
And be lost for ever there by the deep,
In the wonderful hills of sleep.

Bliss Carman

1904

In the blue opal of a winter noon

mrbot — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 21:10:02 +0000

In the blue opal of a winter noon,
When all the world was a white floor
Lit by the northern sun,
I saw with naked eyes a midday star
Burn on like gleaming spar,
Where all its fellows of the mighty dusk
Had perished one by one.

When I shall have put by the vagrant will,
And down this rover's twilight road
Emerge into the sun,
Be thou my only sheer and single star,
Known, named, and followed far,
When all these Jack-o'-lantern hopes and fears
Have perished one by one!

Bliss Carman

1904

There sighed along the garden path

mrbot — Sat, 22 Dec 2018 21:10:09 +0000

There sighed along the garden path
And through the open door a stir;
'Twas not the rustle of the corn,
Nor yet the whisper of the fir.

There passed an Eastern odour, fraught
With the delirium of sense;
'Twas not the attar of the rose,
Nor the carnation's redolence.

Then came a glimmering of white —
The drench of sheer diaphanous lawn,
More palpable than light of stars,
And more delectable than dawn.

The Paphian curve from throat to waist,
From waist to knee, then lost again,
Told me how beauty such as hers
Spreads like a madness among men.

Bliss Carman

1904

The red frost came with his armies

mrbot — Sat, 22 Dec 2018 21:10:02 +0000

The red frost came with his armies
And camped by the sides of the sea.
The maples and the oaks took on
His gorgeous livery.

They dyed their tents a madder,
Alizarin and brown,
And dipped their banners in the sun
To give their joy renown.

And lo, when twilight sobered
Their dauntless cinnabars,
Along the outposts of the sea
The watch-fires of the stars!

And I for love of roving
Am listed with the king,
Because I knew the password,
"Joy is the only thing!"

Bliss Carman

1904