Famous Ail Poems by Famous Poets

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

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419. Bonie Jean: A Ballad

...breast of bonie Jean.


And now she works her mammie’s wark,
 And aye she sighs wi’ care and pain;
Yet wist na what her ail might be,
 Or what wad make her weel again.


But did na Jeanie’s heart loup light,
 And didna joy blink in her e’e,
As Robie tauld a tale o’ love
 Ae e’ening on the lily lea?


The sun was sinking in the west,
 The birds sang sweet in ilka grove;
His cheek to hers he fondly laid,
 And whisper’d thus his tale o’ love:


“O Jeanie fair, I lo’e thee dear;
...Read more of this...
by Burns, Robert


A Bucolic Betwixt Two;lacon And Thyrsis

...
Why so lonely on the hill?
Why thy pipe by thee so still,
That erewhile was heard so shrill?
Tell me, do thy kine now fail
To fulfil the milking-pail?
Say, what is't that thou dost ail?

THYR. None of these; but out, alas!
A mischance is come to pass,
And I'll tell thee what it was:
See, mine eyes are weeping ripe.
LACON. Tell, and I'll lay down my pipe.

THYR. I have lost my lovely steer,
That to me was far more dear
Than these kine which I milk here;
Broad of forehead, lar...Read more of this...
by Herrick, Robert

Be Still My Soul Be Still

...till, my soul; it is but for a season: 
Let us endure an hour and see injustice done. 

Ay, look: high heaven and earth ail from the prime foundation; 
All thoughts to rive the heart are here, and all are vain: 
Horror and scorn and hate and fear and indignation-- 
Oh why did I awake? when shall I sleep again?...Read more of this...
by Housman, A E

Bill Bowls the Sailor

...tar,
But he'd think of Nelly Blyth during the war. 

The poor fellow little imagined what he had to go through,
But in ail his trials at sea, he never did rue;
No; the brave tar became reconciled to his fate,
And he felt proud of his commander, Captain Ward the great. 

And on board the "Waterwitch" was Tom Riggles, his old comrade,
And with such a one as Tom Riggles he seldom felt afraid,
Because the stories they told on board made the time fly away,
And made the hearts of ...Read more of this...
by McGonagall, William Topaz

Breton Wife

...I quote:
"Your husband will not die;
But you must wait a weary boat -
I cannot tell you why."

The months of sun went snailing by.
I wrote by every mail,
Yet ever came the same reply:
"Your patience must not fail.
But though your good lad will not die,
We cannot tell his ail."

 * * * * * * * * *

Ten months have gone - he's back again,
But aged by years a score,
And tells me with a look of pain
He'll never voyage more;
And at the tide, with longing vain,
He stares from out t...Read more of this...
by Service, Robert William


Canzone VI

...The dust of men, whose fame, until the worldIn dissolution sink, can never fail;Her all, that in one ruin now lies hurl'd,Hopes to have heal'd by thee its every ail.O faithful Brutus! noble Scipios dead!To you what triumph, where ye now are blest,If of our worthy choice the fame have spread:And how his ...Read more of this...
by Petrarch, Francesco

Christabel

...old
Lay fast asleep, in moonshine cold.
The mastiff old did not awake,
Yet she an angry moan did make.
And what can ail the mastiff *****?
Never till now she uttered yell
Beneath the eye of Christabel.
Perhaps it is the owlet's scritch:
For what can aid the mastiff *****?

They passed the hall, that echoes still,
Pass as lightly as you will.
The brands were flat, the brands were dying,
Amid their own white ashes lying;
But when the lady passed, there came
A ton...Read more of this...
by Coleridge, Samuel Taylor

Dark Trinity

...must know the way of woe,
 From saint to thief,
And tears were meant to overflow,"
 Said Grief.

Said I to Death: "From ail and fret
 Grant me relief."
Said Death: "I know you are beset
 By Pain and Grief.
But my good will you must await
 Since human breath
To suffering is consecrate,"
 Said Death.

Said I to God: "Pale Sister Grief,
 Bleak Brother Pain,
Bedevil me beyond belief,
 And Death's unfain . . ."
Said God: "Curse not that blessed Three,
 Poor human clod!
Have faith!...Read more of this...
by Service, Robert William

Elegy Before Death

...rain has ceased, and still
Will there be robins in the stubble,
Brown sheep upon the warm green hill.

Spring will not ail nor autumn falter;
Nothing will know that you are gone,
Saving alone some sullen plough-land
None but yourself sets foot upon;

Saving the may-weed and the pig-weed
Nothing will know that you are dead,—
These, and perhaps a useless wagon
Standing beside some tumbled shed.

Oh, there will pass with your great passing
Little of beauty not your own,—
Only t...Read more of this...
by St. Vincent Millay, Edna

Her Late Husband (Kings-Hintock 182-.)

...dig his grave just by 
The woman's with the initialed stone - 
 As near as he can lie - 
After whose death he seemed to ail, 
 Though none considered why. 

"And when I also claim a nook, 
 And your feet tread me in, 
Bestow me, under my old name, 
 Among my kith and kin, 
That strangers gazing may not dream 
 I did a husband win." 

"Widow, your wish shall be obeyed; 
 Though, thought I, certainly 
You'd lay him where your folk are laid, 
 And your grave, too, will be, 
As c...Read more of this...
by Hardy, Thomas

La Belle Dame sans Merci

...'O WHAT can ail thee knight-at-arms  
Alone and palely loitering? 
The sedge is wither'd from the lake  
And no birds sing. 

'O what can ail thee knight-at-arms 5 
So haggard and so woe-begone? 
The squirrel's granary is full  
And the harvest 's done. 

'I see a lily on thy brow 
With anguish moist and fever dew; 10 
And on thy cheeks a fading rose 
Fast ...Read more of this...
by Keats, John

Mrs Frances Hariss Petition

...I have had?"
"Nay," says she, "my Lord Colway's folks are all very sad:
For my Lord Dromedary comes a Tuesday without fail."
"Pugh!" said I, "but that's not the business that I ail."
Says Cary, says he, "I have been a servant this five and twenty years come 
spring,
And in all the places I lived I never heard of such a thing."
"Yes," says the steward, "I remember when I was at my Lord Shrewsbury's,
Such a thing as this happened, just about the time of gooseberries."
So I wen...Read more of this...
by Swift, Jonathan

Not A Child

...iling: but he smiled
Back, as one too high for vain annoy -
Not a child.

II.

Not a child? alack the year!
What should ail an undefiled
Heart, that he would fain appear
Not a child?

Men, with years and memories piled
Each on other, far and near,
Fain again would so be styled:

Fain would cast off hope and fear,
Rest, forget, be reconciled:
Why would you so fain be, dear,
Not a child?

III.


Child or boy, my darling, which you will,
Still your praise finds heart and song em...Read more of this...
by Swinburne, Algernon Charles

Sestina II

.../SPAN>So pleased, she yet is present to my eyes,And aye must be, whatever fate prevail. These my fond thoughts of her shall fade and failWhen foliage ceases on the laurel green;Nor calm can be my heart, nor check'd these eyesUntil the fire shall freeze, or burns the snow:Easier upon my head to count each hai...Read more of this...
by Petrarch, Francesco

Sonnet CCIII

...H4>  The sovereign Lord, 'gainst whom of no availConcealment, or resistance is, or flight,My mind had kindled to a new delightBy his own amorous and ardent ail:[Pg 213]Though his first blow, transfixing my best mailWere mortal sure, to ...Read more of this...
by Petrarch, Francesco

Sonnet LXXXI

..._98 name=Page_98>[Pg 98]The outward joy serves only to concealThe inner ail and anguish that I feel. Macgregor....Read more of this...
by Petrarch, Francesco

The Burning of the Steamer City of Montreal

...he crew were struggling manfully the fire to check. 

Oh, it was a soul-harrowing and horrible sight,
To see the brave sailors trying hard with all their might;
Battling furiously with the merciless flames --
With a dozen of hose, but still the fire on them gains. 

At length it became apparent the steamer couldn't be saved,
And the passengers were huddled together, and some of them madly raved;
And the family groups were most touching to see,
Especially husbands and wives em...Read more of this...
by McGonagall, William Topaz

The Death Of Autumn

...afar the half-forgotten creek,—
Then leans on me the weight of the year, and crushes
My heart. I know that Beauty must ail and die,
And will be born again,—but ah, to see
Beauty stiffened, staring up at the sky!
Oh, Autumn! Autumn!—What is the Spring to me?...Read more of this...
by St. Vincent Millay, Edna

The Millers Tale

...pecially the gentlefolk*
Our Host then laugh'd and swore, "So may I gon,* *prosper
This goes aright; *unbuckled is the mail;* *the budget is opened*
Let see now who shall tell another tale:
For truely this game is well begun.
Now telleth ye, Sir Monk, if that ye conne*, *know
Somewhat, to quiten* with the Knighte's tale." *match
The Miller that fordrunken was all pale,
So that unnethes* upon his horse he sat, *with difficulty
He would avalen* neither hood nor hat, *uncover
No...Read more of this...
by Chaucer, Geoffrey

When the Lad for Longing Sighs

...the lad for longing sighs, 
Mute and dull of cheer and pale, 
If at death's own door he lies, 
Maiden, you can heal his ail. 

Lovers' ills are all to buy: 
The wan look, the hollow tone, 
The hung head, the sunken eye, 
You can have them for your own. 

Buy them, buy them: eve and morn 
Lovers' ills are all to sell. 
Then you can lie down forlorn; 
But the lover will be well....Read more of this...
by Housman, A E

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