Category: William Ernest Henley

Under A Stagnant Sky Under a stagnant sky, Gloom out of gloom uncoiling into gloom, The River, jaded and forlorn, Welters and wanders wearily–wretchedly–on; Yet…

Some Starlit Garden Grey With Dew Some starlit garden grey with dew, Some chamber flushed with wine and fire, What matters where, so I and…

London Types – Mounted Police Army Reserve; a worshipper of Bobs, With whom he stripped the smock from Candahar; Neat as his mount, that neatest…

Grave St. Margaret’s bells, Quiring their innocent, old-world canticles, Sing in the storied air, All rosy-and-golden, as with memories Of woods at evensong, and sands…

Ballade Of Dead Actors Where are the passions they essayed, And where the tears they made to flow? Where the wild humours they portrayed For…

The Ways Of Death Are Soothing And Serene The ways of Death are soothing and serene, And all the words of Death are grave and…

Out Of The Night That Covers Me Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever…

Life In Her Creaking Shoes Life in her creaking shoes Goes, and more formal grows, A round of calls and cues: Love blows as the…

Enter Patient The morning mists still haunt the stony street; The northern summer air is shrill and cold; And lo, the Hospital, grey, quiet, old,…

After Like as a flamelet blanketed in smoke, So through the anaesthetic shows my life; So flashes and so fades my thought, at strife With…

When The Wind Storms By With A Shout When the wind storms by with a shout, and the stern sea-caves Rejoice in the tramp and…

The Sea Is Full Of Wandering Foam The sea is full of wandering foam, The sky of driving cloud; My restless thoughts among them roam…

Madam Life’s A Piece In Bloom Madam Life’s a piece in bloom Death goes dogging everywhere: She’s the tenant of the room, He’s the ruffian…

In The Dials To GARRYOWEN upon an organ ground Two girls are jigging. Riotously they trip, With eyes aflame, quick bosoms, hand on hip, As…

Children- Private Ward Here in this dim, dull, double-bedded room, I play the father to a brace of boys, Ailing but apt for every sort…

Trees And The Menace Of Night Trees and the menace of night; Then a long, lonely, leaden mere Backed by a desolate fell, As by…

Since Those We Love And Those We Hate SINCE those we love and those we hate, With all things mean and all things great, Pass…

London Types – Hawker Far out of bounds he’d figured-in a race Of West-End traffic pitching to his loss. But if you’d see him in…

Gull In An Aery Morrice Gulls in an aery morrice Gleam and vanish and gleam . . . The full sea, sleepily basking, Dreams under…

Back-View I watched you saunter down the sand: Serene and large, the golden weather Flowed radiant round your peacock feather, And glistered from your jewelled…

With Strawberries We Filled A Tray WITH strawberries we filled a tray, And then we drove away, away Along the links beside the sea, Where…

The Ways Are Green The ways are green with the gladdening sheen Of the young year’s fairest daughter. O, the shadows that fleet o’er the…

Orientale She’s an enchanting little Israelite, A world of hidden dimples!–Dusky-eyed, A starry-glancing daughter of the Bride, With hair escaped from some Arabian Night, Her…

Life Is Bitter Life is bitter. All the faces of the years, Young and old, are gray with travail and with tears. Must we only…

England, My England WHAT have I done for you,    England, my England? What is there I would not do,    England, my own? With your glorious…

A Thanksgiving From brief delights that rise to me Out of unfathomable dole, I thank whatever gods there be For mine unconquerable soul. In the…

We Shall Surely Die We shall surely die: Must we needs grow old? Grow old and cold, And we know not why? O, the By-and-By,…

The Rain And The Wind The rain and the wind, the wind and the rain — They are with us like a disease: They worry…

Music Down the quiet eve, Thro’ my window with the sunset Pipes to me a distant organ Foolish ditties; And, as when you change Pictures…

In The Placid Summer Midnight In the placid summer midnight, Under the drowsy sky, I seem to hear in the stillness The moths go glimmering…

Bring Her Again, O Western Wind Bring her again, O western wind, Over the western sea! Gentle and good and fair and kind, Bring her…

Tree, Old Tree Of The Triple Crook Tree, Old Tree of the Triple Crook And the rope of the Black Election, ‘Tis the faith of…

Suicide Staring corpselike at the ceiling, See his harsh, unrazored features, Ghastly brown against the pillow, And his throat-so strangely bandaged! Lack of work and…

London Types – Drum-Major Who says Drum-Major says a man of mould, Shaking the meek earth with tremendous tread, And pacing still, a triumph to…

From The Break The Nightingale From the brake the Nightingale Sings exulting to the Rose; Though he sees her waxing pale In her passionate repose,…

Ballade Of A Toyokuni Colour-Print Was I a Samurai renowned, Two-sworded, fierce, immense of bow? A histrion angular and profound? A priest? a porter?–Child, although…

You Played And Sang A Snatch Of Song You played and sang a snatch of song, A song that all-too well we knew; But whither…

There Is A Wheel Inside My Head There is a wheel inside my head Of wantonness and wine, An old, cracked fiddle is begging without,…

Praise The Generous Gods Praise the generous gods for giving In a world of wrath and strife, With a little time for living, Unto all…

Largo E Mesto Out of the poisonous East, Over a continent of blight, Like a maleficent Influence released From the most squalid cellerage of hell,…

Double Ballade On The Nothingness Of Things The big teetotum twirls, And epochs wax and wane As chance subsides or swirls; But of the loss…

Andante Con Moto Forth from the dust and din, The crush, the heat, the many-spotted glare, The odour and sense of life and lust aflare,…

We Are The Choice Of The Will We are the Choice of the Will: God, when He gave the word That called us into line,…

The Past Was Goodly Once The Past was goodly once, and yet, when all is said, The best of it we know is that it’s…

Not To The Staring Day Not to the staring Day, For all the importunate questionings he pursues In his big, violent voice, Shall those mild…

In Fisherrow A hard north-easter fifty winters long Has bronzed and shrivelled sere her face and neck; Her locks are wild and grey, her teeth…

Between The Dusk Of A Summer Night Between the dusk of a summer night And the dawn of a summer day, We caught at a…

To My Wife Take, dear, my little sheaf of songs, For, old or new, All that is good in them belongs Only to you; And,…

She Saunters By The Swinging Seas She sauntered by the swinging seas, A jewel glittered at her ear, And, teasing her along, the breeze Brought…

London Types – Bluecoat Boy So went our boys when Edward Sixth, the King, Chartered Christ’s Hospital, and died. And so Full fifteen generations in…

From A Window In Princes Street Above the Crags that fade and gloom Starts the bare knee of Arthur’s Seat; Ridged high against the evening…

Ave, Caesar! From the winter’s grey despair, From the summer’s golden languor, Death, the lover of Life, Frees us for ever. Inevitable, silent, unseen, Everywhere…

When You Wake In Your Crib When you wake in your crib, You, an inch of experience – Vaulted about With the wonder of darkness;…

The Wan Sun Westers, Faint And Slow The wan sun westers, faint and slow; The eastern distance glimmers gray; An eerie haze comes creeping low…

Operation You are carried in a basket, Like a carcase from the shambles, To the theatre, a cockpit Where they stretch you on a table….

It Came With The Threat Of A Waning Moon It came with the threat of a waning moon And the wail of an ebbing tide,…

Easy Is The Triolet Easy is the Triolet, If you really learn to make it! Once a neat refrain you get, Easy is the Triolet….

A Wink From Hesper A wink from Hesper, falling Fast in the wintry sky, Comes through the even blue, Dear, like a word from you……

Visitor Her little face is like a walnut shell With wrinkling lines; her soft, white hair adorns Her withered brows in quaint, straight curls, like…

The Gods Are Dead The gods are dead? Perhaps they are! Who knows? Living at least in Lempriere undeleted, The wise, the fair, the awful,…