Despair Poems
Testament
by Wendell Berry
And now to the Abyss I pass
Of that Unfathomable Grass...
1.
Dear relatives and friends, when my last breath
Grows large and free in air, don't call it death --
A word to enrich the undertaker and inspire
His surly art of imitating life; conspire
Against him. Say that my body cannot now
Be improved upon; it has no fault to show
......
February Morning
by Hayden Carruth
The old man takes a nap
too soon in the morning.
His coffee cup grows cold.
Outside the snow falls fast.
He'll not go out today.
Others must clear the way
to the car and the shed.
Open upon his lap
......
Carry On
by Robert William Service
It's easy to fight when everything's right,
And you're mad with the thrill and the glory;
It's easy to cheer when victory's near,
And wallow in fields that are gory.
It's a different song when everything's wrong,
When you're feeling infernally mortal;
When it's ten against one, and hope there is none,
Buck up, little soldier, and chortle:
Carry on! Carry on!
......
Inchcape Rock
by Robert Southey
No stir in the air, no stir in the sea,
The Ship was still as she could be;
Her sails from heaven received no motion,
Her keel was steady in the ocean.
Without either sign or sound of their shock,
The waves flow’d over the Inchcape Rock;
So little they rose, so little they fell,
They did not move the Inchcape Bell.
......
Don Juan: Canto The Second
by George Gordon Byron
XXIV
The ship, call'd the most holy "Trinidada,"
Was steering duly for the port Leghorn;
For there the Spanish family Moncada
Were settled long ere Juan's sire was born:
They were relations, and for them he had a
Letter of introduction, which the morn
Of his departure had been sent him by
His Spanish friends for those in Italy.XXV
His suite consisted of three servants and
......
The Table Spread of Empty Cups
by Seyi Ojenike
Here is the table, wide as a field,
spread with empty cups and broken plates,
each one a hollow mouth,
waiting for something to fill it.
Mothers sit with hands folded tight,
their palms worn and wanting,
fingers tracing the rims of cups,
that never hold more than air.
......
When Snow Falls
by Dany Stark
As I close my eyes,
I see a human in disguise.
The last existence needed,
Repeated, repeated, repeated.
A mental state of mind,
And they never admit it's an option.
Shell blows, your mind is flying.
Soul was sold at an auction.
Unworthy, live, need is only a myth.
And as last of existence reeks,
......
Rugged Reality
by Somali Mukherjee
An obscure panic
Haunts my days in reverie;
Gravity drags me.
nothingyoucoulddonothingyoucoulddonothingyoucoulddonothingyoucoulddonothingyoucoulddonothingyoucoulddonothingyoucoulddo
by Mackenzie Bilz
I don’t know what to do.
All I do is hurt
All I do is hurt people
I don’t know what to do.
What do I do?
What do I do?
What do I do?
I should not have ever spoken to others
......
A Night Sky Affair
by Dan Tzcelle
A silvery dream upon the night sky
Shining betwixt the tiny shimmers
Queen of the dark alam is she,
Beauty resting upon her in sanctity
That mere words can’t help but flatter
Brimming with epics at her flower beds
That the poets sing praises
But none versed enough
To match her luminous attire
......
