Famous Nag Poems by Famous Poets

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

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Father Rileys Horse

...th his swag, 
And who ventured the opinion, to the township's great surprise, 
That the race would go to Father Riley's nag. 
"You can talk about your riders -- and the horse has not been schooled, 
And the fences is terrific, and the rest! 
When the field is fairly going, then ye'll see ye've all been fooled, 
And the chestnut horse will battle with the best. 

"For there's some has got condition, and they think the race is sure, 
And the chestnut horse will fall beneath the...Read more of this...
by Paterson, Andrew Barton


In Arthurs House

...thing king-like here thou dine."

Of some kind word King Arthur thought,
But ere he spake the woodman caught
His forest-nag and leapt thereon,
And through the tangled brake was gone.
Then leapt the King down, glad at heart,
Thinking, This day shall not depart
Without some voice from days that were;
And lightly leapt down Guenevere,
And man and maid lay presently
Neath the bee-laden branches high,
And sweet the scent of trodden grass
Amid the blossoms' perfume was.

There long...Read more of this...
by Morris, William

Lukannon

...now their sons no more!


At the hole where he went in
Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin.
Hear what little Red-Eye saith:
"Nag, come up and dance with death!"


Eye to eye and head to head,
 (Keep the measure, Nag.)
This shall end when one is dead;
 (At thy pleasure, Nag.)
Turn for turn and twist for twist -- 
 (Run and hide thee, Nag.)
Hah! The hooded Death has missed!
 (Woe betide thee, Nag!)...Read more of this...
by Kipling, Rudyard

Meditation on the A30

...wished I was dead-
Thank heavens we don't have to kiss.

"I'ld like a nice blonde on my knee
And one who won't argue or nag.
Who dares to come hooting at me?
I only give way to a Jag.

"You're barmy or plastered, I'll pass you, you bastard-
I will overtake you. I will!"
As he clenches his pipe, his moment is ripe
And the corner's accepting its kill....Read more of this...
by Betjeman, John

Remorse

...THE HORSE’S name was Remorse.
There were people said, “Gee, what a nag!”
And they were Edgar Allan Poe bugs and so
They called him Remorse.

 When he was a gelding
He flashed his heels to other ponies
And threw dust in the noses of other ponies
And won his first race and his second
And another and another and hardly ever
Came under the wire behind the other runners.

And so, Remorse, who is gone, was the hero of a play
By H...Read more of this...
by Sandburg, Carl


Requiem

...solation,
As if a beating heart is painfully ripped out, or,
Thumped, she lies there brutally laid out,
But she still manages to walk, hesitantly, alone.
Where are you, my unwilling friends,
Captives of my two satanic years?
What miracle do you see in a Siberian blizzard?
What shimmering mirage around the circle of the moon?
I send each one of you my salutation, and farewell.
[March 1940]

INTRODUCTION
[PRELUDE]

It happened like this when only the dead
Were smiling, glad of ...Read more of this...
by Akhmatova, Anna

Riding To Town

...When labor is light and the morning is fair,
I find it a pleasure beyond all compare
To hitch up my nag and go hurrying down
And take Katie May for a ride into town;
For bumpety-bump goes the wagon,
But tra-la-la-la our lay.
There's joy in a song as we rattle along
In the light of the glorious day.
A coach would be fine, but a spring wagon's good;
My jeans are a match for Kate's gingham and hood;
The hills take us up and the vales take us down,
Bu...Read more of this...
by Laurence Dunbar, Paul

Robin And Richard

...y,"Oh, brother Richard, the sun's very high!You go before, with the bottle and bag,And I will come after on little Jack Nag."...Read more of this...
by Goose, Mother

Spartan Mother

...s the baby hand
 I held to her in glee.
Of course I had a sweet nou-nou
 Who tended me with care,
And mother reined her nag to view
 Me with a critic air.

So I went to a famous school,
 But holidays were short;
My mother thought me just a fool,
 Unfit for games and sport.
For I was fond of books and art,
 And hated hound and steed:
Said Mother, 'Boy, you break my heart!
 You are not of our breed.'

Then came the War. The Mater said:
 'Thank God, a son I give
To King and Coun...Read more of this...
by Service, Robert William

The Eviction

...ile, o'er fence and watery field beneath,
The little army moves through drizzling rain;
A 'Crowbar' leads the Sheriff's nag; the lane
Is enter'd, and their plashing tramp draws near,
One instant, outcry holds its breath to hear
"Halt!" - at the doors they form in double line, 
And ranks of polish'd rifles wetly shine. 

The Sheriff's painful duty must be done; 
He begs for quiet-and the work's begun. 
The strong stand ready; now appear the rest, 
Girl, matron, grandsire, baby...Read more of this...
by Allingham, William

The Female of the Species

...-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man,
He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can.
But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail.
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choctaws,
They prayed to be delivered from the vengeance of the s...Read more of this...
by Kipling, Rudyard

The Flight Of The Duchess

...room,
What he called stink, and they, perfume:
---They should have set him on red Berold
Mad with pride, like fire to manage!
They should have got his cheek fresh tannage
Such a day as to-day in the merry sunshine!
Had they stuck on his fist a rough-foot merlin!
(Hark, the wind's on the heath at its game!
Oh for a noble falcon-lanner
To flap each broad wing like a banner,
And turn in the wind, and dance like flame!)
Had they broached a white-beer cask from Berlin
---Or if you...Read more of this...
by Browning, Robert

Victory

...s sign of hope: 
The knowledge of things evil, of drunken wreck and hag, 
Of sordid sounds and voices, the everlasting "nag" – 
Oh, men without a battle-song! Oh, men without a flag! 

They breed a nation's strength behind each shabby little door, 
Where rent-collectors knock for aye, and Christ shall knock no more; 
The sounds that hurt the mother's heart affright the children there – 
Alarm-clocks on an empty tin, the tin tray on a chair; 
For weary folk are hard to wake in...Read more of this...
by Lawson, Henry

Villons Straight Tip to All Cross Coves

..."Tout aux tavernes et aux filles."
Suppose you screeve? or go cheap-jack?
Or fake the broads? or fig a nag?
Or thimble-rig? or knap a yack?
Or pitch a snide? or smash a rag?
Suppose you duff? or nose and lag?
Or get the straight, and land your pot?
How do you melt the multy swag?
Booze and the blowens cop the lot.
Fiddle, or fence, or mace, or mack;
Or moskeneer, or flash the drag;
Dead-lurk a crib, or do a crack;
Pad with a slang, or chuck a ***;
Bonnet, or ...Read more of this...
by Henley, William Ernest

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