Famous Witnessing Poems by Famous Poets

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

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Hymn 144

by Isaac Watts
 The witnessing and sealing Spirit.

Rom. 8:14,16; Eph. 1:13,14. 

Why should the children of a King
Go mourning all their days?
Great Comforter! descend and bring
Some tokens of thy grace.

Dost thou not dwell in all the saints,
And seal the heirs of heav'n?
When wilt thou banish my complaints,
And show my sins forgiv'n?

Assure my conscience of her part
In the Redeemer's blood
And bear thy witness...Read more of this...

Lines in Defence of the Stage

by William Topaz McGonagall
 Good people of high and low degree,
I pray ye all be advised by me,
And don't believe what the clergy doth say,
That by going to the theatre you will be led astray. 

No, in the theatre we see vice punished and virtue rewarded,
The villain either hanged or shot, and his career retarded;
Therefore the theatre is useful in every way,
And has...Read more of this...

The Sunderland Calamity

by William Topaz McGonagall
 'Twas in the town of Sunderland, and in the year of 1883,
That about 200 children were launch'd into eternity
While witnessing an entertainment in Victoria Hall,
While they, poor little innocents, to God for help did call. 

The entertainment consisted of conjuring, and the ghost illusion play,
Also talking waxworks, and living marionettes, and given by Mr. Fay;
And on this occasion, presents...Read more of this...

On that dear Frame the Years had worn

by Emily Dickinson
 On that dear Frame the Years had worn
Yet precious as the House
In which We first experienced Light
The Witnessing, to Us --

Precious! It was conceiveless fair
As Hands the Grave had grimed
Should softly place within our own
Denying that they died....Read more of this...

A Woman in the Garden of Light

by Dejan Stojanovic
To find the hidden place 
Longing freely to explore 
Break obstacles and recognize 
Invisible sparks emanating 
From the deserved discovery 
Of nothing between us 
Shining longing only 
Wakening stars in the Garden 
Witnessing the birth of new landscapes, 
Future cities and temples 
Hearing new stories, falling 
From the fountains of the secret art 
All old sounds and colors reviving 
And...Read more of this...

A Curse For A Nation

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
 I heard an angel speak last night,
And he said 'Write!
Write a Nation's curse for me,
And send it over the Western Sea.'

I faltered, taking up the word:
'Not so, my lord!
If curses must be, choose another
To send thy curse against my brother.

'For I am bound by gratitude,
By love and blood,
To brothers of mine across the sea,
Who stretch out kindly hands to...Read more of this...

From Pauline

by Robert Browning
 O God, where does this tend—these struggling aims? 
What would I have? What is this ‘sleep’, which seems 
To bound all? can there be a ‘waking’ point 
Of crowning life? The soul would never rule— 
It would be first in all things—it would have 
Its utmost pleasure filled,—but that complete 
Commanding for commanding sickens it. 
The last point I...Read more of this...

Editorial Impressions

by Siegfried Sassoon
 He seemed so certain ‘all was going well’, 
As he discussed the glorious time he’d had 
While visiting the trenches.
‘One can tell 
You’ve gathered big impressions!’ grinned the lad 
Who’d been severely wounded in the back
In some wiped-out impossible Attack. 
‘Impressions? Yes, most vivid! I am writing 
A little book called Europe on the Rack, 
Based on notes made...Read more of this...

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