Short Poems

I got a letter from Jesus,
Ahah, ahah!
I got a letter, I got a letter,
I got a letter from Jesus,

I found a little brown purse
The fairies left for me,
It was stitch'd with green and yellow,
As pretty as could be.
It was full of fairy-money,
As full as it could be,
So I bought a pot of honey,
And had it for my tea.

I DREAMED two spirits came — one dusk as night:
" Mortals miscall me Life, " he sadly saith;
The other, with a smile like morning light,
Flashed his strong wings and spake,
" Men name me Death. "

I am like a flag unfurled in space,
I scent the oncoming winds and must bend with them,
While the things beneath are not yet stirring,
While the doors close gently and there is silence in the chimneys
And the windows do not yet tremble and the dust is still heavy —
Then I feel the storm and am vibrant like the sea
And expand and withdraw into myself
And thrust myself forth and am alone in the great storm.

I am his Highness' dog at Kew;
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?

I am entrenched
Against the snow,
Visor lowered
To blunt its blow

I am where I go

Hyder iddle diddle dell,
A yard of pudding is not an ell;
Not forgetting tweedle-dye,
A tailor's goose will never fly.

Just when my longing to see
the moon over Kyoto
one last time grows deepest,
the image I behold this autumn night
leaves me sleepless for its beauty.

LOVE AND JEALOUSY .

How much are they deceiv'd who vainly strive
By jealous fears to keep our flames alive!
Love's like a torch, which, if secur'd from blasts,
Will faintlier burn, but then it longer lasts
Expos'd to storms of jealousy and doubt,
The blaze grows greater, but 'tis sooner out.

How many miles to Babylon?
Three score and ten.
Can I get there by candlelight?
Yes, and back again.
Then open the gates wide
And let the king and his men come in.