Work Poems
The Stone
by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson
"And will you cut a stone for him,
To set above his head?
And will you cut a stone for him--
A stone for him?" she said.
Three days before, a splintered rock
Had struck her lover dead--
Had struck him in the quarry dead,
Where, careless of a warning call,
He loitered, while the shot was fired--
......
Please Mrs Butler
by Allan Ahlberg
Please Mrs Butler
This boy Derek Drew
Keeps copying my work, Miss.
What shall I do?
Go and sit in the hall, dear.
Go and sit in the sink.
Take your books on the roof, my lamb.
Do whatever you think.
......
Let America Be America Again
by Langston Hughes
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
......
Lucy Gray, Or Solitude
by William Wordsworth
Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray:
And, when I crossed the wild,
I chanced to see at break of day
The solitary child.
No mate, no comrade Lucy knew;
She dwelt on a wide moor,
- The sweetest thing that ever grew
Beside a human door!
......
Palme
by Paul Valéry
Veiling, barely, his dread
Beauty and its blaze,
An angel sets warm bread
and cool milk at my place.
His eyelids make the sign
Of prayer; I lower mine,
Words interleaving vision:
--Calm, calm, be ever calm!
Feel the whole weight a palm
Bears upright in profusion.
......
Dysfunctional
by Nathaniel Phillips
Feeling like I’m expendable and mocked if I should say so
Suppress me
Till the silence invites the comfort my honesty interferes with
I’m no one of consequence and faking a sense of belonging
Just a work horse and a lost cause
Cash the checks without the bill of attention
Lost affections left on an unpaid tab
Drink from me till you get your fill
Then tuck me away when I’m just a tool at your convenience
......
Invisible
by Nathaniel Phillips
Overcast by the shadow for the spotlight of your pain
Your cries comrade to my words spoken in vain
I am eclipsed by your suffering
What I endure is a burden unseen
You can read every word that I write and still won’t get what I mean
The weight of life and the will to survive
Wasting my time on the will to thrive
......
The Miners' Psalm
by Darris van-Hoxen
Let it be known:
On this ground, soil beneath our feet,
we stand brightly—
unshaped by mana, unburdened by darkness.
Gavreck speaks, unadorned and unmolded,
no bearer of lowly wreaths,
or one whose legs bent to adversary,
Rather with, rending and sending.
......
Sweet Sorrow
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Bonnie Brown was in love with Charles, like black pearl clings to night,
So young and engaged to be married, like myriad stars, shining white.
They were active professionals, dwelling in a charming, bustling town;
As warbling charms orange noon, after pink mist clears, with no sound.
They had dreams of future and a family, like purple nights of fantasy;
And they were already making plans, like butterflies flitting frantically.
Fellowship of friends made fabulous Fridays, when they met after hours,
......
Bridging the Gap
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Mary Fletcher was prime minister in olde England, like fondest memory,
Of days when the twilight stood still, with silver moon, floating on sea.
Mary Fletcher was capable and caring, to the country's great benefit;
Like spring rains of green benevolence, trailing the fragrant evidence.
Andrew was Mary's loving husband. Their lives were so happy together!
Like allurng, violet future, that recalls moments in lush, green heather.
Scarlet summer was all in a fever, as faceted friends called, flustered;
......
