Famous 1St Poems by Famous Poets

These are examples of famous 1St poems written by some of the greatest and most-well-known modern and classical poets. PoetrySoup is a great educational poetry resource of famous 1st poems. These examples illustrate what a famous 1st poem looks like and its form, scheme, or style (where appropriate).

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111. Address to Beelzebub

by Robert Burns
 LONG life, my Lord, an’ health be yours,
Unskaithed by hunger’d Highland boors;
Lord grant me nae duddie, desperate beggar,
Wi’ dirk, claymore, and rusty trigger,
May twin auld Scotland o’ a life
She likes—as butchers like a knife.


Faith you and Applecross were right
To keep the Highland hounds in sight:
I doubt na! they wad bid nae better,
Than let them ance out owre the water,
Then...Read more of this...

The Lovers' Colloquy

by Victor Hugo
 ("Mon duc, rien qu'un moment.") 
 
 {HERNANI, Act V.} 


 One little moment to indulge the sight 
 With the rich beauty of the summer's night. 
 The harp is hushed, and, see, the torch is dim,— 
 Night and ourselves together. To the brim 
 The cup of our felicity is filled. 
 Each sound is mute,...Read more of this...

The Death of Lord and Lady Dalhousie

by William Topaz McGonagall
 Alas! Lord and Lady Dalhousie are dead, and buried at last,
Which causes many people to feel a little downcast;
And both lie side by side in one grave,
But I hope God in His goodness their souls will save. 

And may He protect their children that are left behind,
And may they always food and raiment find;
And from the paths of virtue...Read more of this...

The Roll Of The De Silva Race

by Victor Hugo
 ("Celui-ci, des Silvas, c'est l'aîné.") 
 
 {HERNANI, Act III.} 


 In that reverend face 
 Behold the father of De Silva's race, 
 Silvius; in Rome he filled the consul's place 
 Three times (your patience for such honored names). 
 This second was Grand Master of St. James 
 And Calatrava; his strong limbs sustained 
 Armor...Read more of this...

The Incantation

by Andrew Barton Paterson
 Scene: Federal Political Arena 
A darkened cave. In the middle, a cauldron, boiling. 
Enter the three witches. 
1ST WITCH: Thrice hath the Federal Jackass brayed. 

2ND WITCH: Once the Bruce-Smith War-horse neighed. 

3RD WITCH: So Georgie comes, 'tis time, 'tis time, 
Around the cauldron to chant our rhyme. 

1ST WITCH: In the cauldron boil and bake 
Fillet of a...Read more of this...

The Lover's Sacrifice

by Victor Hugo
 ("Fuyons ensemble.") 
 
 {HERNANI, Act II.} 


 DONNA SOL. Together let us fly! 
 
 HERNANI. Together? No! the hour is past for flight. 
 Dearest, when first thy beauty smote my sight, 
 I offered, for the love that bade me live, 
 Wretch that I was, what misery had to give: 
 My wood, my stream,...Read more of this...

The Degenerate Gallants

by Victor Hugo
 ("Mes jeunes cavaliers.") 
 
 {HERNANI, Act I., March, 1830.} 


 What business brings you here, young cavaliers? 
 Men like the Cid, the knights of bygone years, 
 Rode out the battle of the weak to wage, 
 Protecting beauty and revering age. 
 Their armor sat on them, strong men as true, 
 Much lighter than your...Read more of this...

Requiem

by Anna Akhmatova
 Not under foreign skies
 Nor under foreign wings protected -
 I shared all this with my own people
 There, where misfortune had abandoned us.
 [1961]

INSTEAD OF A PREFACE

During the frightening years of the Yezhov terror, I
spent seventeen months waiting in prison queues in
Leningrad. One day, somehow, someone 'picked me out'.
On that occasion there was a woman standing behind me,
her...Read more of this...

The Idea of Ancestry

by Etheridge Knight
 Taped to the wall of my cell are 47 pictures: 47 black
faces: my father, mother, grandmothers (1 dead), grand-
fathers (both dead), brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts,
cousins (1st and 2nd), nieces, and nephews.They stare
across the space at me sprawling on my bunk.I know
their dark eyes, they know mine.I know their style,
they know mine.I am all of them, they are all of...Read more of this...

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