Famous Mercurial Poems by Famous Poets

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

See also:

To A Louse

by Robert Burns
 ON SEEING ONE ON A LADY'S BONNET AT CHURCH

Ha! whare ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie!
Your impudence protects you sairly:
I canna say but ye strunt rarely
Owre gauze and lace;
Tho' faith, I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.

Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunned by saunt an' sinner,
How daur ye set your fit upon her,
Sae fine a lady!
Gae somewhere else...Read more of this...

99. To a Louse

by Robert Burns
 HA! whaur ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?
Your impudence protects you sairly;
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,
 Owre gauze and lace;
Tho’, faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
 On sic a place.


Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunn’d by saunt an’ sinner,
How daur ye set your fit upon her—
 Sae fine a lady?
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner
 On...Read more of this...

When A Woman Loves A Man

by David Lehman
 When she says Margarita she means Daiquiri.
When she says quixotic she means mercurial.
And when she says, "I'll never speak to you again,"
she means, "Put your arms around me from behind
as I stand disconsolate at the window."

He's supposed to know that.

When a man loves a woman he is in New York and she is in Virginia
or he is in Boston,...Read more of this...

The ride to bumpville

by Eugene Field
 Play that my knee was a calico mare
Saddled and bridled for Bumpville;
Leap to the back of this steed, if you dare,
And gallop away to Bumpville!
I hope you'll be sure to sit fast in your seat,
For this calico mare is prodigiously fleet,
And many adventures you're likely to meet
As you journey along to Bumpville.

This calico mare both gallops and trots
While whisking...Read more of this...

The Missal Makers

by Robert William Service
 To visit the Escurial
We took a motor bus,
And there a guide mercurial
 Took charge of us.
He showed us through room after room,
And talked hour after hour,
Of place, crypt and royal tomb,
 Of pomp and power.

But in bewilderment of grace
What pleased me most of all
Were ancient missals proud in place
 In stately hall.
A thousand tomes there were at least,
All luminously...Read more of this...

Into the Dusk-Charged Air

by John Ashbery
 Far from the Rappahannock, the silent
Danube moves along toward the sea.
The brown and green Nile rolls slowly
Like the Niagara's welling descent.
Tractors stood on the green banks of the Loire
Near where it joined the Cher.
The St. Lawrence prods among black stones
And mud. But the Arno is all stones.
Wind ruffles the Hudson's
Surface. The Irawaddy is overflowing.
But the yellowish, gray Tiber
Is contained...Read more of this...

Dont forget to view our wonderful member Mercurial poems.

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace