Poesia: August Moonlight - Richard le Gallienne

August Moonlight - Richard le Gallienne

THE solemn light behind the barns,
The rising moon, the cricket's call,
The August night, and you and I—
What is the meaning of it all!

Has it a meaning, after all? 5
Or is it one of Nature's lies,
That net of beauty that she casts
Over Life's unsuspecting eyes?

That web of beauty that she weaves
For one strange purpose of her own,— 10
For this the painted butterfly,
For this the rose—for this alone!

Strange repetition of the rose,
And strange reiterated call
Of bird and insect, man and maid,— 15
Is that the meaning of it all?

If it means nothing after all!
And nothing lives except to die—
It is enough—that solemn light
Behind the barns, and you and I.

A Ballad of Past Meridian George Meredith
A Child Richard Watson Gilder
Contentment Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
How Did You Die? Edmund Vance Cooke
In a Garden Algernon Charles Swinburne
Last Lines Emily Brontë
The Laws of God, the Laws of Man A. E. Housman
London William Blake
A Musical Instrument Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Near Avalon William Morris
The Portent Herman Melville
Requiem Robert Louis Stevenson
Silence Thomas Hood
The Single Hound XLV Emily Dickinson
Song Sara Teasdale
Song of Myself - Section 50 Walt Whitman
To the Sundial John Quincy Adams
The Wants of Man John Quincy Adams

Abou Ben Adhem - Leigh Hunt

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:—
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

Short Poetry Collection 047