Poems

Poems List

Explore poems from our collection

Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Winds Out of the West Land Blow

The Winds Out of the West Land Blow

The winds out of the west land blow,
My friends have breathed them there;
Warm with the blood of lads I know
Co…

487
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The True Lover

The True Lover

The lad came to the door at night,
When lovers crown their vows,
And whistled soft and out of sight
In shadow of the boughs.
<…

473
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The rainy Pleiads wester

The rainy Pleiads wester

The rainy Pleiads wester,
Orion plunges prone,
The stroke of midnight ceases
And I lie down alone.


The r…

456
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Stinging Nettle

The Stinging Nettle

The stinging nettle only
Will still be found to stand:
The numberless, the lonely,
The thronger of the land,
The leaf tha…

520
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Laws of God, The Laws of Man

The Laws of God, The Laws of Man

The laws of God, the laws of man,
He may keep that will and can;
Not I: let God and man decree
Laws for themselves…

442
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Merry Guide

The Merry Guide

Once in the wind of morning
I ranged the thymy wold;
The world-wide air was azure
And all the brooks ran gold.


Th…

520
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Grizzly Bear

The Grizzly Bear

The Grizzly Bear is huge and wild
It has devoured the little child.
The little child is unaware
It has been eaten by the bear.

382
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Isle of Portland

The Isle of Portland

The star-filled seas are smooth to-night
From France to England strown;
Black towers above the Portland light
The felon-quarri…

518
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Carpenter's Son

The Carpenter's Son

"Here the hangman stops his cart:
Now the best of friends must part.
Fare you well, for ill fare I:
Live, lads, and I will die.…

479
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

The Day of Battle

The Day of Battle

"Far I hear the bugle blow
To call me where I would not go,
And the guns begin the song,
'Soldier, fly or stay for long.'
<…

451
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Shot? So Quick, So Clean an Ending?

Shot? So Quick, So Clean an Ending?

Shot? so quick, so clean an ending?
Oh that was right, lad, that was brave:
Yours was not an ill for mending,
'…

456
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Tell me not here, it needs not saying

Tell me not here, it needs not saying

Tell me not here, it needs not saying,
What tune the enchantress plays
In aftermaths of soft September
Or und…

547
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

On Your Midnight Pallet Lying

On Your Midnight Pallet Lying

On your midnight pallet lying,
Listen, and undo the door:
Lads that waste the light in sighing
In the dark should sig…

482
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

On the Idle Hill of Summer

On the Idle Hill of Summer

On the idle hill of summer,
Sleepy with the flow of streams,
Far I hear the steady drummer
Drumming like a noise in drea…

444
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Oh Who Is That Young Sinner

Oh Who Is That Young Sinner

Oh who is that young sinner with the handcuffs on his wrists?
And what has he been after that they groan and shake their fists?

465
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Oh, when I was in love with you

Oh, when I was in love with you

Oh, when I was in love with you,
Then I was clean and brave,
And miles around the wonder grew
How well did I behave…

512
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Now Hollow Fires Burn Out to Black

Now Hollow Fires Burn Out to Black

Now hollow fires burn out to black,
And lights are guttering low:
Square your shoulders, lift your pack,
And lea…

399
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Oh fair enough are sky and plain

Oh fair enough are sky and plain

Oh fair enough are sky and plain,
But I know fairer far:
Those are as beautiful again
That in the water are;

469
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Loitering with a Vacant Eye

Loitering with a Vacant Eye

Loitering with a vacant eye
Along the Grecian gallery,
And brooding on my heavy ill,
I met a statue standing still.

462
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now

Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearin…

432
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

Is My Team Ploughing

Is My Team Ploughing

"Is my team ploughing,
That I was used to drive
And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?"


Ay, the h…

634
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

In Valleys of Springs and Rivers

In Valleys of Springs and Rivers

"Clunton and Clunbury,
Clungunford and Clun,
Are the quietest places
Under the sun."


In valleys …

561
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

If Truth in Hearts That Perish

If Truth in Hearts That Perish

If truth in hearts that perish
Could move the powers on high,
I think the love I bear you
Should make you not to die…

462
Alfred Edward Housman
Alfred Edward Housman

I Hoed and Trenched and Weeded

I Hoed and Trenched and Weeded

I hoed and trenched and weeded,
And took the flowers to fair:
I brought them home unheeded;
The hue was not the wear…

483