Best Middle English Poems
She That Rivaled The Glowing Moon
Thy *hyacinth* hair upon white shoulders laid bare
thy face, mirror of love in heavenly skies.
The miracle of thy body, so sweet and fair
its soft innocence, destroyer of worldly lies.
Walking behind thee, in steps where an angel trod
among meadows, flowering in moonbeams there cast.
Must be a heaven for thou art proof of a God
that giveth to mankind a beauty that shall last.
Thy touch, ecstasies that rival paradise
ravishing smile, cool breeze blowing on a hot beach.
In all the universe only thee will suffice
to heal my aching soul and my heart, true love teach.
Thou art my *Irene*, that I drink of thy calm!
Blessed am I, to be soothed by thy kiss balm.
R.J. Lindley
June 26th, 1989
Poem Syllable Counter Results
Syllables Per Line: 12 12 12 12 0 12 12 12 12 0 12 12 12 12 0 12 12
Total # Syllables: 168
Total # Lines: 17 (Including empty lines)
Words with (syllables) counted programmatically: N/A
Total # Words: 122
***************************************
1. "hyacinth"- Luxuriant and curling
2. "Irene"- According the Greek myth, the goddess of peace
3. ****" balm"****
Home British & World English balm
Definition of balm in English:
balm
noun
1 A fragrant cream or liquid used to heal or soothe the skin:
‘a skin balm for use after shaving’
**** 1.1 Something that has a soothing or restorative effect:****
‘the murmur of the water can provide balm for troubled spirits’
2A tree which yields a fragrant resinous substance, especially one used in medicine.
? balm of Gilead
2.1[mass noun] The resinous substance yielded by a balm.
3[mass noun] A bushy herb of the mint family, with leaves smelling and tasting of lemon.
3.1 Used in names of other aromatic herbs of the mint family, e.g. bee balm.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘preparation for embalming, fragrant resinous substance’): from Old French basme, from Latin balsamum (see balsam).
*****************
Note- I had her but my mad wild streak( I was 18 years old) drove her away..
She saw something in me that back then (1973), that could not stay..
Only many decades later, could it reemerge to remain and slay my demons....
Ich have y-don al myn youth
“I have done it all my youth”
(anonymous Middle English poem)
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I have done it all my youth:
Often, often, and often!
I have loved long and yearned zealously ?
And oh what grief it has brought me!
Original Middle English poem:
Ich have y-don al myn youth,
Oftë, ofte, and ofte;
Longe y-loved and yerne y-beden ?
Ful dere it is y-bought!
Keywords/Tags: Middle English, translation, medieval, rhyme, epigram, lament, complaint, youth, love, loved, longing, longed, grief, sorrow, depression, oft, often, yearning, zeal, zealous, zealously, desire, lust, passion, yearn, yearned, yearning, long, longing, dear, dearly bought, purchased, cost, price, expense, expensive, England
I Am /A Dandelion
I stem out to a beautiful flower dressed in yellow,
with a milky latex that runs in my veins.
Omitting a fragrant perfume of my own.
As the night falls, I close and slumber till sunrise.
Like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly,
I’m standing tall with downy white feathery fine hair.
As a gentle cool breeze whispers with a kiss,
I surrender my fruit to fall into its hands.
Swept away and drifts like little propellers with the wind,
like a thief in the night whisking them away over long distances
Out to their lovers as they mate with the rich brown soil.
©By: Eve Roper 5/3/2015
Dandelion late Middle English: from French dent-de-lion, translation of medieval Latin dens leonis ‘lion's tooth’ (because of the jagged shape of the leaves).
Contest : Picture Yourself as a Flower!
Sponsor: Andrea Dietrich
Deep In The Mountain Tarns
Deep in the mountains,
Beyond a lost road,
Mystical spirits
Have their wild abode.
Lonely abysses
Of primeval dread,
Forests were freely
the shy fairies tread.
The eagle hovers
In safety there,
With keen eyes watching
Nest and lair.
Green are those waters,
Dark as ancient bronze,
Harbors for the souls
Of dreaming swans.
Through mossy branches,
Through cavernous rifts,
Red-sun down
Cool fragrance drifts.
He who enters
That lost abode
Never more needs
A wandering road.
R. J. Lindley
Note:
tarn
[tahrn]
Word Origin
noun
1.
a small mountain lake or pool, especially one in a cirque.
1300-50; Middle English terne < Old Norse tjorn pond, pool
www.dictionary.com/browse/tarn
A dialectal word popularized by the Lake poets. tarn in Science Expand. tarn. (tärn) A small mountain lake, especially one formed as a glacier melts, filling a cirque with water.
I was out of control, spinning
on the whirligig of youth,
giddy to be caught
in what Kerouac called
"the whole mad swirl
of everything to come."
I didn't know what to expect.
I was ready for nothing
though I had spent years
in solitary confinement
with books, exams and degrees.
You would think I'd have learned
something about life as it is,
not as I wished it to be.
I went out on the street
to look for work
and was surprised to discover
no one spoke Old English
like Beowulf or Middle English
like the Wife of Bath.
An old professor told me
I talked the way
e.e. cummings wrote
and no one would hire me.
A few years later I married
a woman with several degrees.
She thought I was normal.
We had five kids in six years
and drove landlords bonkers.
"The Lord will provide,"
we said, and He did.
Fifty years later, the five kids
have rucksacks of their own
packed with jobs, marriages,
children and good lives
measured against
the standard of most.
Their mother is dead,
and like everyone else
on this strange planet
I am in the process
of dying in the jaws
of what Kerouac called
"the whole mad swirl
of everything to come."
I have seen almost all
of "everything to come"
except for the best part
and that, I am told,
will take my breath away.
Donal Mahoney
Aching Nights And Hopelessly Sad Morn
Aching nights and hopelessly sad morn
my life torn, ripped and nailed;
each day dark hours sliced and dice,
misery applauding as I failed
not once nor even twice but thrice!
Each day, worries eat into this fate
watered soup- soul needs more;
so lost, lost as three blind mice,
this aching heart dares score
as if my deep pain does not suffice!
Dare I question my dark lot in life
In ashes pray a blessing sweet;
nay, such a supplication reflects,
forlorn spirit admits defeat
epic moaning that never connects!
Tomorrow hints at miracles to come
fine ship, vast oceans to sail;
winds blowing, waters calm and blue,
relief given from a dark hell
a destined pilgrimage seeking you!
Robert J. Lindley , 10-03-2015
Note--" Thrice" | Define Thrice at Dictionary.com
three times, as in succession; on three
occasions or in three ways. 2. in threefold
quantity or degree. 3. very; extremely.
Origin of thrice. Expand. Middle English
"The Maiden's Song" or "The Bridal Morn" is an ancient Middle English poem about a young girl, a bride, on the morning after her wedding day.
The Maiden’s Song aka The Bridal Morn
anonymous Medieval lyric
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
The maidens came to my mother’s bower.
I had all I would, that hour.
The bailey beareth the bell away;
The lily, the rose, the rose I lay.
Now silver is white, red is the gold;
The robes they lay in fold.
The bailey beareth the bell away;
The lily, the rose, the rose I lay.
Still through the window shines the sun.
How should I love, yet be so young?
The bailey beareth the bell away;
The lily, the rose, the rose I lay.
I take this to be a naughty, suggestive poem, but one that makes us feel sympathy for a young bride, quite possibly a child bride.
Keywords/Tags: maiden, mother, mother and daughter, bailey, beareth, bell, lily, rose, silver, gold, robes, sun, love, young, youth, girl, bower, bridal shower, wedding, woman, women,
Mountains feel its cascade.
Yesterdays remember its destruction.
Blossoms drink its delightfulness.
Estuaries enliven effervescently.
Sunshine shimmers during sprinkles.
The freedom of rain exhilarates.
Rainwater refreshes.
Acclimates the atmosphere.
Invigorates the soul.
Nurtures all that lives.
Precious precipitation,
Omnipotent and cyclical,
Entices excitement.
Merrily mizzling..
© July 16, 2011
Dane Smith-Johnsen
Written for Poetry Soup Member Contest: best RAIN poem
Sponsored by: ¥ Destroyer ¥ Poet
Note: mizzling - definition of mizzling by the Free Online Dictionary ...
To rain in fine, mistlike droplets; drizzle. n. A mistlike rain; a drizzle. [Middle English misellen ...
www.thefreedictionary.com/mizzling
The battle rages on between the
Titans of technicalities backed by the Grammar Nazis and the
free thinking artist of Middle English teamed with the Imps of invention.
Five seven five, stings like a hive. Artists express because they’re alive.
Haikus can’t rhyme? They do for me all the time.
Explosive new ideas cause fear and so Grammar Nazis jeer.
Arsenals of critiques on both sides mount, as we war over the very count.
The boring masses blindly follow. Dictated rules, they suck up and swallow.
As the battle for middle English rages on I cuddle up in my cell awaiting my forced insertion
in the army of the boring masses.
By Robb A. Kopp
All Rights Reserved © MMX
In Full Flight Her Soul Departed
To free my heart of all that haunted me
Told I, these my tidings.
... On a summer's dawn,
Fresh from our orisons, we wandered forth
To greet the waking of the meadow flowers
And peer into the crystal pearls of dew
That shrine the beauty of the world, when lo!
Beside the cresses of a dark pool bending
Whose voiceless depths of waters brings to light
The dreams of brooding earth, I saw her face
Folded in mystic rapture, set in glory
Even as in the heart of sorrow nestles
The seed of consolation, and beside her
One stood in semblance of those two higher souls
That bear annunciation, and they two
In Heavenly colloquy abode, the while
My spirit marveled, waiting in a region
Where time was not. When suddenly a breeze
Came like a wayward thought, and swiftly ran
Across the shadowy waters, and the vision
Was there no more; and when I turned to her
None stood beside her, but she seemed as one
That waketh from enchantment, and all day
Her words did sound as echoes of old song
From out a happier world, - and that same night
In quiet sleep she died.
Robert J. Lindley, 10-27-2015
Note- Here I present this as was written,
in my old way, long ago abandoned but now attempting
to rekindle that writing flame..
Based upon the death, decades ago, of a dear friend.
(1) orison
Syllabification: or·i·son
Pronunciation: /'ôr?s?n/ /'ôr?z?n/
Definition of orison in English:
noun
archaic
A prayer.
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
Origin
Middle English: from Old French oreison, from Latin oratio(n-) 'speech' (see oration).
(2) annunciation
Definition of annunciation in English:
noun
(usually the Annunciation)
1. The announcement of the Incarnation by the angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:26-38).
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
1.1The church festival commemorating this, held on March 25 (Lady Day).
EXAMPLE SENTENCES
1.2 formal or , archaic The announcement of something:
the annunciation of a set of rules applying to the relationships between states
(3) colloquy
col·lo·quy
'käl??kwe/
noun
1.
formal
a conversation.
"they broke off their colloquy at once"
2.
a gathering for discussion of theological questions.
At age twenty I had made it to Earls Court.
The rented room was seedily solid
having been for decades
filled with wine and cheap sunlight.
Until then I had not read a thing
apart from: ‘The Ship’ by C.S. Forester
and ‘Arms and the Man’, by G. B. Shaw
both part of a school curriculum.
I liked Shaw for his wit and intelligence
No one told me then that he was, in fact,
a fascist of the worst kind,
I thought he was an erudite old Irishman
like my uncle Sean.
A pink girl with huge eye-glasses, moved in.
She was studying Geoffrey Chaucer
in the original middle-english.
I hadn't a clue.
I bought a book of poems by D.H. Lawrence.
I forget why, but I liked his name
and my uncle Sean often talked about his poetry.
Turns out Lawrence had written a pile of books also,
but back then I was just into his poems.
I read ‘Grapes’, and I read ‘Figs’.
I read ‘Medlars and Sorb-Apples’, I read ‘Peach’,
I read ‘Cypresses’.
Back then I don't think I had ever seen a cypress,
a ‘medlar’ or a ‘sorb apple.’
I read: Snake,
Baby Tortoise,
Turkey-Cock,
Kangaroo and many others.
A few years later I found out
that the poets that were considered
to be good poets, and the critics
who were thought to be good critics
didn't think much of his poems.
I tried reading the poems of the good poets,
but after a while I felt nauseous.
Then I discovered Dylan Thomas.
The pink girl did not understand his poetry,
neither did I much,
but I ate up his words like a starving man.
Turns out Dylan Thomas was a drunk
and a mean bastard,
just like my uncle Sean.
What does it mean
To be poor in spirit,
To be the first
Of the “blessed”
Named by the Savior?
Does it mean
He knows I am helpless
And empty,
Broken so many times
That not a drop
Of my self
Remains in this vessel?
Does it mean
He knows I am destitute,
Holding nothing
But bewilderment
And anguish
At what his design
Was meant to accomplish?
Dare I trust
To let go of the anger
In order to be healed?
Dare I trust
This broken, empty person
Will be filled;
That the child
Deep inside me
Will receive God’s mercy?
Dare I trust
That if I reach out
And take the hand
Of God
It will be open
With the gift of His kingdom
For me;
That my pride
And arrogance
Will be forgiven?
Dare I trust
That God will approve
Of all I am releasing
In order
To become His child?
Dare I trust
That God will approve
Of me?
Jesus says
“Blessed
Are the poor in spirit”.
Dare I trust
He says this
To me?
(poor, from Middle English poure, from Old French povre, from Latin pau, variant for pu, puer
from Greek pais meaning “child”)
(spirit, from Middle English, from Old French espirit, from Latin spiritus, spirare, from Greek
g(w)hre meaning “to breathe”)
I
What weather will welcome roaming?
Any, if it's sunny, she says
Off they go, Thomas Hardy tales recalling ...
Roaming the veld, let me count the ways -
II
If we were cattle, we would range
If we were bandits we would rove -
No roots in "Rome," that's strange?
R O A M, it's a word for today, by Jove!
III
Students would read the root word is "roven"
Way back from 1300, Middle English, I'd say
A word, if attended, becomes like one chosen
Revealing history while "rambling" today
Concupiscent is from Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin concupiscentia, from Latin concupiscens, concupiscent-, present participle of concupiscere, inchoative of concupere, to desire strongly : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + cupere, to desire.
Memories come back and are reminiscent,
Of being highly effective and self-sufficient;
Did adapt,
With no mishap,
Also, as well as efficient and concupiscent.
Jim Horn
MODERN ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF MEDIEVAL ENGLISH POEMS
Inordinate Love
anonymous Middle English poem, circa 15th century
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
I shall say what inordinate love is:
The ferocity and singleness of mind,
An inextinguishable burning devoid of bliss,
A great hunger, too insatiable to decline,
A dulcet ill, an evil sweetness, blind,
A right wonderful, sugared, sweet error,
Without any rest, contrary to kind,
Without quiet, a riot of useless labor.
Unkindness Has Killed Me
anonymous Middle English poem, 15th century
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Grievous is my sorrow:
Both evening and morrow;
Unto myself alone
Thus do I moan,
That unkindness has killed me
And put me to this pain.
Alas! what remedy
That I cannot refrain?
The spring under a thorn
anonymous Middle English poem, circa 15th century
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
At a wellspring, under a thorn,
the remedy for an ill was born.
There stood beside a maid
Full of love bound,
And whoso seeks true love,
In her it will be found.
A lover left alone with his thoughts
anonymous Middle English poem, circa later 15th century
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Continuance
of remembrance,
without ending,
causes me penance
and great grievance,
for your parting.
You are so deeply
engraved in my heart,
God only knows
that always before me
I ever see you
in thoughts covert.
Though I do not explain
my woeful pain,
I bear it still,
although it seems vain
to speak against
Fortune’s will.
Keywords/Tags: Middle English, translation, Medieval English, love, mind, bliss, burning, hunger, desire, sorrow, pain, spring, lover, thoughts, heart