Famous Expect Poems by Famous Poets

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

See also:

A Song To David

...he Lord His tithe, 
And make the widow's heart-strings blythe; 
 Resort with those that weep: 
As you from all and each expect, 
For all and each thy love direct, 
 And render as you reap. 

 XLVII 
The slander and its bearer spurn, 
And propagating praise sojourn 
 To make thy welcome last; 
Turn from Old Adam to the New; 
By hope futurity pursue; 
 Look upwards to the past. 

 XLVIII 
Control thine eye, salute success, 
Honor the wiser, happier bless, 
 And for thy neighbor...Read more of this...
by Smart, Christopher


Before you knew you owned it

...Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.

Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your soul.

Discover t...Read more of this...
by Walker, Alice

Beowulf (Modern English)

...among the host of the Danes,
to turn aside the soul-slaying or settle it with payment,
nor need any of the counselors expect
to receive bright gifts from the hands of a killer. (ll. 144-58)

Yet the monster was persecuting young and old,
the dark shadow of death, lurking and entrapping them.
In endless night he ruled the misty moors—
Us humans don’t even know how to trace
the turnings of such hellish secrets. (ll. 159-63)

So many enormities the enemy of mankind,
...Read more of this...
by Anonymous,

Beowulf (Old English)

...s friends no wise
could that earl give treasure! And ever since
the Merowings’ favor has failed us wholly.
Nor aught expect I of peace and faith
from Swedish folk. ’Twas spread afar
how Ongentheow reft at Ravenswood
Haethcyn Hrethling of hope and life,
when the folk of Geats for the first time sought
in wanton pride the Warlike-Scylfings.
Soon the sage old sire {38e} of Ohtere,
ancient and awful, gave answering blow;
the sea-king {38f} he slew, and his spouse redee...Read more of this...
by Anonymous,

Dream On

...ed to lie down on, to connect, reveal,
explore, to imbue meaning on the day's extravagant labor. 
And yet it's cruel to expect too much. 
It's a rare species of bird 
that refuses to be categorized.
Its song is barely audible.
It is like a dragonfly in a dream--
here, then there, then here again,
low-flying amber-wing darting upward
then out of sight.
And the dream has a pain in its heart
the wonders of which are manifold,
or so the story is told....Read more of this...
by Tate, James


Eviradnus

...blustering wind that comes from neighboring glade. 
 Strange in this dream-like place, so drear and lone, 
 The guest expected should be living one! 
 The seven lights from seven arms make glow 
 Almost with life the staring eyes that show 
 On the dim frescoes—and along the walls 
 Is here and there a stool, or the light falls 
 O'er some long chest, with likeness to a tomb. 
 Yet was displayed amid the mournful gloom 
 Some copper vessels, and some crockery ware. 
...Read more of this...
by Hugo, Victor

Expect Nothing

...Expect nothing. Live frugally
On surprise.
become a stranger
To need of pity
Or, if compassion be freely
Given out
Take only enough
Stop short of urge to plead
Then purge away the need.


Wish for nothing larger
Than your own small heart
Or greater than a star;
Tame wild disappointment
With caress unmoved and cold
Make of it a parka
For your...Read more of this...
by Walker, Alice

Lara

...st, 
And murmurs rise, and Otho's brow's o'ercast, 
"I know my friend! his faith I cannot fear, 
If yet he be on earth, expect him here; 
The roof that held him in the valley stands 
Between my own and noble Lara's lands; 
My halls from such a guest had honour gain'd, 
Nor had Sir Ezzelin his host disdain'd, 
But that some previous proof forbade his stay, 
And urged him to prepare against to-day; 
The word I pledge for his I pledge again, 
Or will myself redeem his knighthood...Read more of this...
by Byron, George (Lord)

Last Instructions to a Painter

...d their master, led by Ashburnham. 
To them succeeds a desipicable rout, 
But know the word and well could face about; 
Expectants pale, with hopes of spoil allured, 
Though yet but pioneers, and led by Stew'rd. 
Then damning cowards ranged the vocal plain, 
Wood these command, the Knight of the Horn and Cane. 
Still his hook-shoulder seems the blow to dread, 
And under's armpit he defends his head. 
The posture strange men laughed at of his poll, 
Hid with his elbow like the...Read more of this...
by Marvell, Andrew

Paradise Lost: Book 04

...age replied. 
Then when I am thy captive talk of chains, 
Proud limitary Cherub! but ere then 
Far heavier load thyself expect to feel 
From my prevailing arm, though Heaven's King 
Ride on thy wings, and thou with thy compeers, 
Us'd to the yoke, drawest his triumphant wheels 
In progress through the road of Heaven star-paved. 
While thus he spake, the angelick squadron bright 
Turned fiery red, sharpening in mooned horns 
Their phalanx, and began to hem him round 
With port...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Paradise Lost: Book 05

...urrent of his fury thus opposed. 
O argument blasphemous, false, and proud! 
Words which no ear ever to hear in Heaven 
Expected, least of all from thee, Ingrate, 
In place thyself so high above thy peers. 
Canst thou with impious obloquy condemn 
The just decree of God, pronounced and sworn, 
That to his only Son, by right endued 
With regal scepter, every soul in Heaven 
Shall bend the knee, and in that honour due 
Confess him rightful King? unjust, thou sayest, 
Flatly unj...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Paradise Lost: Book 09

...g flowers. 
But, that thou shouldst my firmness therefore doubt 
To God or thee, because we have a foe 
May tempt it, I expected not to hear. 
His violence thou fearest not, being such 
As we, not capable of death or pain, 
Can either not receive, or can repel. 
His fraud is then thy fear; which plain infers 
Thy equal fear, that my firm faith and love 
Can by his fraud be shaken or seduced; 
Thoughts, which how found they harbour in thy breast, 
Adam, mis-thought of her to t...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Snow

...take, if backward
It’s from regret for something you have passed
And failed to see the good of. Never mind,
Things must expect to come in front of us
A many times—I don’t say just how many—
That varies with the things—before we see them.
One of the lies would make it out that nothing
Ever presents itself before us twice.
Where would we be at last if that were so?
Our very life depends on everything’s
Recurring till we answer from within.
The thousandth time may prove the char...Read more of this...
by Frost, Robert

The Dungeon

...ell.  My gentle reader, I perceive  How patiently you've waited,  And I'm afraid that you expect  Some tale will be related.   O reader! had you in your mind  Such stores as silent thought can bring,  O gentle reader! you would find  A tale in every thing.  What more I have to say is short,  I hope you'll kindly take it;  It is no tale; but should you think,&nb...Read more of this...
by Wordsworth, William

The Flight Of The Duchess

...y years are fled since that morning,
And with them all my head's adorning.
Nor did the old Duchess die outright,
As you expect, of suppressed spite,
The natural end of every adder
Not suffered to empty its poison-bladder:
But she and her son agreed, I take it,
That no one should touch on the story to wake it,
For the wound in the Duke's pride rankled fiery,
So, they made no search and small inquiry---
And when fresh Gipsies have paid us a visit, I've
Noticed the couple were n...Read more of this...
by Browning, Robert

The Four Ages of Man

...done, the same was done by me:
4.4 As was their praise, or shame, so mine must be.
4.5 Now age is more, more good ye do expect;
4.6 But more my age, the more is my defect.
4.7 But what's of worth, your eyes shall first behold,
4.8 And then a world of dross among my gold.
4.9 When my Wild Oats were sown, and ripe, and mown,
4.10 I then receiv'd a harvest of mine own.
4.11 My reason, then bad judge, how little hope
4.12 Such empty seed should yield a better crop.
4.13 I then wi...Read more of this...
by Bradstreet, Anne

The Man of Laws Tale

...as her a venture: *Morocco; Gibraltar
On many a sorry meal now may she bait,
After her death full often may she wait*, *expect
Ere that the wilde waves will her drive
Unto the place *there as* she shall arrive. *where

Men mighten aske, why she was not slain?
Eke at the feast who might her body save?
And I answer to that demand again,
Who saved Daniel in the horrible cave,
Where every wight, save he, master or knave*, *servant
Was with the lion frett*, ere he astart?** *devou...Read more of this...
by Chaucer, Geoffrey

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

...you.
As the plow follows words, so God rewards prayers.

The tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction

Expect poison from the standing water. 

You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than
enough.

Listen to the fools reproach! it is a kingly title!

The eyes of fire, the nostrils of air, the mouth of water, the
beard of earth.

The weak in courage is strong in cunning.
The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow, nor the
lion. th...Read more of this...
by Blake, William

The Waste Land

...soles, and stays.
I Tiresias, old man with wrinkled dugs
Perceived the scene, and foretold the rest -
I too awaited the expected guest. 
He, the young man carbuncular, arrives,
A small house agent's clerk, with one bold stare,
One of the low on whom assurance sits
As a silk hat on a Bradford millionaire.
The time is now propitious, as he guesses,
The meal is ended, she is bored and tired,
Endeavours to engage her in caresses
Which still are unreproved, if undesired.
Flushed a...Read more of this...
by Eliot, T S (Thomas Stearns)

White Flock

...dawn-drenched granite did not view,
And it appeared that that I, awake, my
Unforgettable, saw you..

But then the unexpected night
Covered the before-autumn town,
That, so as to assist my flight,
The ashen shadows melted down.

I only took with me the cross,
That you had given on day of treason
That wormwood steppe should be in bloom
And winds, like sirens, sing in season.

And here upon an empty wall
He keeps me from the broodings dour
And I don't fear to rec...Read more of this...
by Akhmatova, Anna

Dont forget to view our wonderful member Expect poems.

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter