Famous Stretching Poems by Famous Poets

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

See also:

A Carol of Harvest for 1867

...e grass, 
The heat, the showers, the measureless pasturages, 
The scenery of the snows, the winds’ free orchestra, 
The stretching, light-hung roof of clouds—the clear cerulean, and the bulging,
 silvery
 fringes, 
The high dilating stars, the placid, beckoning stars,
The moving flocks and herds, the plains and emerald meadows, 
The shows of all the varied lands, and all the growths and products. 

4
Fecund America! To-day, 
Thou art all over set in births and joys! 
Thou gro...Read more of this...
by Whitman, Walt


Adventure

...Sun and wind and beat of sea,
Great lands stretching endlessly…
Where be bonds to bind the free?
All the world was made for me! ...Read more of this...
by Crapsey, Adelaide

As I Sat Alone by Blue Ontario's Shores

...Niagara, Hudson,
 spending
 themselves lovingly in him,
If the Atlantic coast stretch, or the Pacific coast stretch, he stretching with them north
 or
 south, 
Spanning between them, east and west, and touching whatever is between them, 
Growths growing from him to offset the growth of pine, cedar, hemlock, live-oak, locust,
 chestnut, hickory, cottonwood, orange, magnolia, 
Tangles as tangled in him as any cane-brake or swamp, 
He likening sides and peaks of mountains, fores...Read more of this...
by Whitman, Walt

Beowulf (Modern English)

.... 736b-45a)

Nearer forth he stepped inside, grabbing in his claws
the mighty-minded warrior at his rest,
the fiend stretching out towards him with his hands.
Beowulf seized him at once with malicious purpose,
setting himself against his arm. Immediately
that keeper of crimes realized that never,
in all of middle-earth or its distant corners,
in any human, had he met a greater hand-grip.
He became fearful at heart, in his very soul:
he couldn’t get away from this o...Read more of this...
by Anonymous,

Endymion: Book II

...at the last, a diamond balustrade,
Leading afar past wild magnificence,
Spiral through ruggedest loopholes, and thence
Stretching across a void, then guiding o'er
Enormous chasms, where, all foam and roar,
Streams subterranean tease their granite beds;
Then heighten'd just above the silvery heads
Of a thousand fountains, so that he could dash
The waters with his spear; but at the splash,
Done heedlessly, those spouting columns rose
Sudden a poplar's height, and 'gan to enclo...Read more of this...
by Keats, John


Four Quartets 1: Burnt Norton

...
There rises the hidden laughter
Of children in the foliage
Quick now, here, now, always—
Ridiculous the waste sad time
Stretching before and after....Read more of this...
by Eliot, T S (Thomas Stearns)

Gareth And Lynette

...Hath force to quell me.' 
Nigh upon that hour 
When the lone hern forgets his melancholy, 
Lets down his other leg, and stretching, dreams 
Of goodly supper in the distant pool, 
Then turned the noble damsel smiling at him, 
And told him of a cavern hard at hand, 
Where bread and baken meats and good red wine 
Of Southland, which the Lady Lyonors 
Had sent her coming champion, waited him. 

Anon they past a narrow comb wherein 
Where slabs of rock with figures, knights on hor...Read more of this...
by Tennyson, Alfred Lord

Last Words

...that moment which will survive 
the burning of all the small pockets 
of fat and oil that are the soul, 
I am the soul stretching into 
the furthest reaches of my fingers 
and beyond, glowing like ten candles 
in the vault of night for anyone 
who could see, even though it is 
12:40 in the afternoon and I 
have passed from darkness into sunlight 
so fierce the sweat streams down 
into my eyes. I did not rise. 
A wind or a stray animal or a group 
of kids dragged me to the si...Read more of this...
by Levine, Philip

Mountains

...loved in youth so well; 
There the songs of childhood travel, over wave-worn steep and strand - 
Over dale and upland stretching out behind this mountain land. 


``Lovely Being, can a mortal, weary of this changeless scene, 

Cross these cloudy summits to the land where man hath never been? 
Can he find a pathway leading through that wildering mass of pines, 
So that he shall reach the country where ethereal glory shines; 
So that he may glance at waters never dark...Read more of this...
by Kendall, Henry

November

...he startled forest sings
Winter's returning song— cloud races cloud,
And the horizon throws away its shroud,
Sweeping a stretching circle from the eye;
Storms upon storms in quick succession crowd,
And o'er the sameness of the purple sky
Heaven paints, with hurried hand, wild hues of every dye.

At length it comes along the forest oaks,
With sobbing ebbs, and uproar gathering high;
The scared, hoarse raven on its cradle croaks,
And stockdove-flocks in hurried terrors fly,
Whi...Read more of this...
by Bryant, William Cullen

Paradise Lost: Book 02

...end, 
Encroached on still through our intestine broils 
Weakening the sceptre of old Night: first, Hell, 
Your dungeon, stretching far and wide beneath; 
Now lately Heaven and Earth, another world 
Hung o'er my realm, linked in a golden chain 
To that side Heaven from whence your legions fell! 
If that way be your walk, you have not far; 
So much the nearer danger. Go, and speed; 
Havoc, and spoil, and ruin, are my gain." 
 He ceased; and Satan stayed not to reply, 
But, glad...Read more of this...
by Milton, John

Snowbound a Winter Idyl

...te 
For Slavery's lash the freeman's will, 
For blind routine, wise-handed skill; 
A school-house plant on every hill, 
Stretching in radiate nerve-lines thence 
The quick wires of intelligence; 
Till North and South together brought 
Shall own the same electric thought, 
In peace a common flag salute, 
And, side by side in labor's free 
And unresentful revalry, 
Harvest the fields wherein they fought. 

Another guest that winter night 
Flashed back from lustrous eyes the lig...Read more of this...
by Whittier, John Greenleaf

Song of Myself

...ing below;
Where the dense-starr’d flag is borne at the head of the regiments; 
Approaching Manhattan, up by the long-stretching island; 
Under Niagara, the cataract falling like a veil over my countenance; 
Upon a door-step—upon the horse-block of hard wood outside; 
Upon the race-course, or enjoying picnics or jigs, or a good game of base-ball;
At he-festivals, with blackguard jibes, ironical license, bull-dances, drinking,
 laughter; 
At the cider-mill, tasting the...Read more of this...
by Whitman, Walt

The Burden Of Itys

...bronze gates and the crowded square,
Whose very fountains seem for ecstasy
To toss their silver lances in the air,
And stretching out weak hands to East and West
In vain sends peace to peaceless lands, to restless nations rest.

Is not yon lingering orange after-glow
That stays to vex the moon more fair than all
Rome's lordliest pageants! strange, a year ago
I knelt before some crimson Cardinal
Who bare the Host across the Esquiline,
And now - those common poppies in the whe...Read more of this...
by Wilde, Oscar

The Fight With The Dragon

...t was placed
Its lengthy body's heavy load;
A scaly coat of mail embraced
The back, on which it fiercely showed."

"Its stretching neck appeared to swell,
And, ghastly as a gate of hell,
Its fearful jaws were open wide,
As if to seize the prey it tried;
And in its black mouth, ranged about,
Its teeth in prickly rows stood out;
Its tongue was like a sharp-edged sword,
And lightning from its small eyes poured;
A serpent's tail of many a fold
Ended its body's monstrous span,
And...Read more of this...
by Schiller, Friedrich von

The Four Seasons

...white nipple seizing the space

drained of all milk... 

A she-devil beckoning to worshippers 
seductive - her arm stretching outwards -
to this lonely pilgrim
lost in the mist: 

Behold the school of wild bucks 
Behold the meeting of incarnate 
spirits -
Behold the lost souls bearing tapers 
in rags of rich damask, 
Down Thomas - the saint of 
unbelievers - down the road to bliss 
Down to the red house, uncertain 
like a beggar's bowl hanging unto the cliff ...Read more of this...
by Nwakanma, Obi

The Glove

...a week well.
And 'twas noticed he never would honour
De Lorge (who looked daggers upon her)
With the easy commission of stretching
His legs in the service, and fetching
His wife, from her chamber, those straying
Sad gloves she was always mislaying,
While the King took the closet to chat in,---
But of course this adventure came pat in.
And never the King told the story,
How bringing a glove brought such glory,
But the wife smiled---``His nerves are grown firmer:
``Mine he brin...Read more of this...
by Browning, Robert

The Lady of the Lake

...chase drew nigh;
     Then, as the headmost foes appeared,
     With one brave bound the copse he cleared,
     And, stretching forward free and far,
     Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var.
     III.

     Yelled on the view the opening pack;
     Rock, glen, and cavern paid them back;
     To many a mingled sound at once
     The awakened mountain gave response.
     A hundred dogs bayed deep and strong,
     Clattered a hundred steeds along,
     Their peal the...Read more of this...
by Scott, Sir Walter

The Triumph Of Fame

...h, famed for self-command,Was seen, conspicuous midst his kindred band.Then stretching far my sight amid the trainThat hid, in countless crowds, the shaded plain,Good Hezekiah met my raptured sight,And Manoah's son, a prey to female sleight;And he, whose eye foresaw the coming flood,With mighty Nimrod nigh, a man of blood;Read more of this...
by Petrarch, Francesco

The Walk

...g forest
Suddenly gives back the day's glittering brightness to me!
Boundlessly seems the distance before my gaze to be stretching,
And in a purple-tinged hill terminates sweetly the world.

Deep at the foot of the mountain, that under me falls away steeply,
Wanders the greenish-hued stream, looking like glass as it flows.
Endlessly under me see I the ether, and endlessly o'er
Giddily look I above, shudderingly look I below,
But between the infinite height and the infinite ho...Read more of this...
by Schiller, Friedrich von

Dont forget to view our wonderful member Stretching 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