Famous Fugitive Poems by Famous Poets

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

See also:

Beowulf (Old English)

...elter, a sinful man,
and entered in. At the awful sight
tottered that guest, and terror seized him;
yet the wretched fugitive rallied anon
from fright and fear ere he fled away,
and took the cup from that treasure-hoard.
Of such besides there was store enough,
heirlooms old, the earth below,
which some earl forgotten, in ancient years,
left the last of his lofty race,
heedfully there had hidden away,
dearest treasure. For death of yore
had hurried all hence; and h...Read more of this...
by Anonymous,


Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie

...untains,
Hunting for furs in the forests, on rivers trapping the beaver.
Therefore be of good cheer; we will follow the fugitive lover;
He is not far on his way, and the Fates and the streams are against him.
Up and away to-morrow, and through the red dew of the morning
We will follow him fast, and bring him back to his prison."

Then glad voices were heard, and up from the banks of the river,
Borne aloft on his comrades' arms, came Michael the fiddler.
Long under Basil's roo...Read more of this...
by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

Genius

...m impressed,
Till the schools have affixed to the writ eternal their signet,
Till a mere formula's chain binds down the fugitive soul?
Answer me, then! for thou hast down into these deeps e'en descended,--
Out of the mouldering grave thou didst uninjured return.
Is't to thee known what within the tomb of obscure works is hidden,
Whether, yon mummies amid, life's consolations can dwell?
Must I travel the darksome road? The thought makes me tremble;
Yet I will travel that road,...Read more of this...
by Schiller, Friedrich von

Gioconda And Si-Ya-U

...f in Shanghai

A CLAIM

Renowned Leonardo's
world-famous
"La Gioconda"
has disappeared.
And in the space
vacated by the fugitive
a copy has been placed.

The poet inscribing
the present treatise
knows more than a little
about the fate
of the real Gioconda.
She fell in love
with a seductive
graceful youth:
a honey-tongued
almond-eyed Chinese
named SI-YA-U.
Gioconda ran off
after her lover;
Gioconda was burned 
in a Chinese city.

I, Nazim Hikmet,
authority
on this matter,
thum...Read more of this...
by Hikmet, Nazim

Inferno (English)

...ge road is ours, for where the she-wolf lies 
 Shall no man pass, except the path he tries 
 Her craft entangle. No way fugitive 
 Avoids the seeking of her greeds, that give 
 Insatiate hunger, and such vice perverse 
 As makes her leaner while she feeds, and worse 
 Her craving. And the beasts with which she breed 
 The noisome numerous beasts her lusts require, 
 Bare all the desirable lands in which she feeds; 
 Nor shall lewd feasts and lewder matings tire 
 Until she wo...Read more of this...
by Alighieri, Dante


Lazarus

...he world,—or save himself 
Longer for nothing? And if that were so, 
Why should a few years’ more mortality 
Make him a fugitive where flight were needless, 
Had he but held his peace and given his nod
To an old Law that would be new as any? 
I cannot say the answer to all that; 
Though I may say that he is not afraid, 
And that it is not for the joy there is 
In serving an eternal Ignorance
Of our futility that he is here. 
Is that what you and Martha mean by Nothing? 
Is th...Read more of this...
by Robinson, Edwin Arlington

Meditation On Saviors

...y locks the world out of doors.
This people as much as the sea-granite is part of the God from
 whom I desire not to be fugitive.

I see them: they are always crying. The shored Pacific makes
 perpetual music, and the stone mountains
Their music of silence, the stars blow long pipings of light:
 the people are always crying in their hearts.

One need not pity; certainly one must not love. But who has seen
 peace, if he should tell them where peace
Lives in the world...they wo...Read more of this...
by Jeffers, Robinson

Mi Musa Triste (My Sad Muse)

...ts.She wanders with her sad mouthAnd the grand mystery of amber eyes,Across the night, toward forgetfulnessLike a star, fugitive and white.Like a dethroned exotic queenWith comely gestures and rare utterings.Her undereyes are violated horizonsAnd her irises–two stars of amber–Open wet and weary and sadLike ulcers of light that weep.She is a grief which thrives and does not hope,She is a gray aurora risingFrom the shadowy bed of night,Exhausted, without splendor, without anxio...Read more of this...
by Agustini, Delmira

Ode To Beauty

...possessed,
Somewhat not to be caressed,
No feet so fleet could ever find,
No perfect form could ever bind.
Thou eternal fugitive
Hovering over all that live,
Quick and skilful to inspire
Sweet extravagant desire,
Starry space and lily bell
Filling with thy roseate smell,
Wilt not give the lips to taste
Of the nectar which thou hast.

All that's good and great with thee
Stands in deep conspiracy.
Thou hast bribed the dark and lonely
To report thy features only,
And the cold an...Read more of this...
by Emerson, Ralph Waldo

Paradise Lost: Book 02

...g, shall the rest-- 
Millions that stand in arms, and longing wait 
The signal to ascend--sit lingering here, 
Heaven's fugitives, and for their dwelling-place 
Accept this dark opprobrious den of shame, 
The prison of his ryranny who reigns 
By our delay? No! let us rather choose, 
Armed with Hell-flames and fury, all at once 
O'er Heaven's high towers to force resistless way, 
Turning our tortures into horrid arms 
Against the Torturer; when, to meet the noise 
Of his almig...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Paradise Lost: Book 04

...st in flight from pain! hadst thou alleged 
To thy deserted host this cause of flight, 
Thou surely hadst not come sole fugitive. 
To which the Fiend thus answered, frowning stern. 
Not that I less endure, or shrink from pain, 
Insulting Angel! well thou knowest I stood 
Thy fiercest, when in battle to thy aid 
The blasting vollied thunder made all speed, 
And seconded thy else not dreaded spear. 
But still thy words at random, as before, 
Argue thy inexperience what behoves ...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Paradise Lost: Book 09

...arbinger: Sad talk!yet argument 
Not less but more heroick than the wrath 
Of stern Achilles on his foe pursued 
Thrice fugitive about Troy wall; or rage 
Of Turnus for Lavinia disespous'd; 
Or Neptune's ire, or Juno's, that so long 
Perplexed the Greek, and Cytherea's son: 

If answerable style I can obtain 
Of my celestial patroness, who deigns 
Her nightly visitation unimplor'd, 
And dictates to me slumbering; or inspires 
Easy my unpremeditated verse: 
Since first this su...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Paradise Regained: The Second Book

...gs destitute, and, well I know,
Not without hunger. Others of some note,
As story tells, have trod this wilderness:
The fugitive Bond-woman, with her son,
Outcast Nebaioth, yet found here relief
By a providing Angel; all the race 
Of Israel here had famished, had not God
Rained from heaven manna; and that Prophet bold,
Native of Thebez, wandering here, was fed
Twice by a voice inviting him to eat.
Of thee those forty days none hath regard,
Forty and more deserted here indeed....Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Sleep

...Do you give yourself to me utterly,

Body and no-body, flesh and no-flesh

Not as a fugitive, blindly or bitterly, 

But as a child might, with no other wish?

Yes, utterly.



Then I shall bear you down my estuary,

Carry you and ferry you to burial mysteriously,

Take you and receive you,

Consume you, engulf you,

In the huge cave, my belly, lave you

With huger waves continually.

And you shall cling and clamber there

And slumber there...Read more of this...
by Fletcher, John Gould

Sleepers The

...fill’d. 

16
Elements merge in the night—ships make tacks in the dreams, 
The sailor sails—the exile returns home, 
The fugitive returns unharm’d—the immigrant is back beyond months and years,
The poor Irishman lives in the simple house of his childhood, with the well-known
 neighbors and
 faces, 
They warmly welcome him—he is barefoot again, he forgets he is well off; 
The Dutchman voyages home, and the Scotchman and Welshman voyage home, and the native of
 the
 Mediterranea...Read more of this...
by Whitman, Walt

The Artists

...maining votive brand ye tore
From Orient's altars, now pollution's prey,
And to these western lands in safety bore.
The fugitive from yonder eastern shore,
The youthful day, the West her dwelling made;
And on Hesperia's plains sprang up once more
Ionia's flowers, in pristine bloom arrayed.
Over the spirit fairer Nature shed,
With soft refulgence, a reflection bright,
And through the graceful soul with stately tread
Advanced the mighty Deity of light.
Millions of chains were b...Read more of this...
by Schiller, Friedrich von

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

...murmur'd -- "While you live,
Drink! -- for, once dead, you never shall return." 

XXXVI.
I think the Vessel, that with fugitive
Articulation answer'd, once did live,
And merry-make, and the cold Lip I kiss'd,
How many Kisses might it take -- and give! 

XXXVII.
For in the Market-place, one Dusk of Day,
I watch'd the Potter thumping his wet Clay:
And with its all obliterated Tongue
It murmur'd -- "Gently, Brother, gently, pray!" 

XXXVIII.
And has not such a Story from of Old...Read more of this...
by Khayyam, Omar

The Rubaiyat Of Omar Khayyam Of Naishapur

...Lip to Lip it murmured—"While you live
Drink!—for once dead you never shall return."

35

I think the Vessel, that with fugitive
Articulation answered, once did live,
And merry-make; and the cold Lip I kissed
How many Kisses might it take—and give!

36

For in the Market-place, one Dusk of Day,
I watched the Potter thumping his wet Clay:
And with its all obliterated Tongue
It murmured—"Gently, Brother, gently, pray!"

37

Ah, fill the Cup:—what boots it to repeat
How Time is ...Read more of this...
by Fitzgerald, Edward

The Siege of Corinth

...tar, and Spahi, and Turcoman, 
Strike your tents, and throng to the van; 
Mount ye, spur ye, skirt the plain, 
That the fugitive may flee in vain, 
When he breaks from the town; and none escape, 
Aged or young in Christian shape; 
While your fellows on foot, in a fiery mass, 
Bloodstain the breach through which they pass. 
The steeds are all bridled, and snort to the rein; 
Curved is each neck, and flowing each main; 
White is the foam of their champ on the bit: 
The spears a...Read more of this...
by Byron, George (Lord)

The Vision of Judgment

...ate renown in the shape of Latin verses; and not long ago, the poet laureate dedicated to him, it appeareth, one of his fugitive lyrics, upon the strength of a poem called 'Gebir.' Who could suppose, that in this same Gebir the aforesaid Savage Landor (for such is his grim cognomen) putteth into the infernal regions no less a person than the hero of his friend Mr. Southey's heaven, — yea, even George the Third! See also how personal Savage becometh, when he hath a mind. The f...Read more of this...
by Byron, George (Lord)

Dont forget to view our wonderful member Fugitive poems.

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Reflection on the Important Things

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