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Poems of Solace and Remembrance
"Death, be not proud," declared John Donne, "though some have called thee/Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so … " The seventeenth-century poet's expression of faith has consoled countless readers. It appears in this outstanding compilation of inspirational verse along with 90 poems, by more than 60 great English and American writers, dating from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.
These works include the familiar words of famous poets as well as unforgettable verses by lesser-known writers. Selections range from Psalm 23 of the King James Bible to Henley's "Invictus," and Stevenson's "Requiem"; from Quarles's "A Good-Night" to Pope's "The Dying Christian to His Soul," Bryant's "Thanatopsis," and Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar"; from Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" to Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young" and Dylan Thomas's powerful poem to his dying father, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night." Other featured poets include Shakespeare, Raleigh, Jonson, Shelley, Wordsworth, Longfellow, Browning, Whitman, Swinburne, Kipling, Frost, Millay, Dunbar, and Auden.
This volume will be a consolation for anyone who has suffered loss; it also offers a rich treasury of moving and reflective verse, sure to appeal to any lover of fine English and American poetry.
These works include the familiar words of famous poets as well as unforgettable verses by lesser-known writers. Selections range from Psalm 23 of the King James Bible to Henley's "Invictus," and Stevenson's "Requiem"; from Quarles's "A Good-Night" to Pope's "The Dying Christian to His Soul," Bryant's "Thanatopsis," and Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar"; from Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" to Housman's "To an Athlete Dying Young" and Dylan Thomas's powerful poem to his dying father, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night." Other featured poets include Shakespeare, Raleigh, Jonson, Shelley, Wordsworth, Longfellow, Browning, Whitman, Swinburne, Kipling, Frost, Millay, Dunbar, and Auden.
This volume will be a consolation for anyone who has suffered loss; it also offers a rich treasury of moving and reflective verse, sure to appeal to any lover of fine English and American poetry.
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 29, 2022
A nice little book of old poetry about death and loss. It has all the expected classics, like Do Not Go Gently, plus some others I’d never read.
November 2, 2022
So kind and thoughtful and generous of cordelia-anne to send this book of poetry my way...little did I know how much comfort it would bring me and how much I would need it. She sent it my way because we lost a dear, dear friend suddenly. I received my copy shortly after the loss of my stepfather...and just a mere 7 days after we buried my stepfather...my beloved grandmother passed away.
She had a long, full and happy life...but her passing was soo sudden, I was not ready to let her go. First and foremost I am so grateful that I was able to make it up to see her in time before she passed. She knew I was there and I was able to tell her how very much I loved her. In addition, I was so grateful to have this book with me because when asked if I would speak at her service I found a poem for her in this book. A poem that expressed what I was feeling perfectly. This is the poem I read for my Grandma who I loved soo very much and will miss terribly:
==============================================
Dirge Without Music by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
with lilies and with laurel they go: but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains - but the best is lost.
The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, -
They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled is
the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the
world.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
She had a long, full and happy life...but her passing was soo sudden, I was not ready to let her go. First and foremost I am so grateful that I was able to make it up to see her in time before she passed. She knew I was there and I was able to tell her how very much I loved her. In addition, I was so grateful to have this book with me because when asked if I would speak at her service I found a poem for her in this book. A poem that expressed what I was feeling perfectly. This is the poem I read for my Grandma who I loved soo very much and will miss terribly:
==============================================
Dirge Without Music by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
with lilies and with laurel they go: but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains - but the best is lost.
The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, -
They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled is
the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the
world.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
November 26, 2021
Poets from 16th to 20th century and psalm 23.
loved esp. George Santayana - To W. P. II
and James Whitcomb Riley - Away
Also: Edna St Vincent Millay - Dirge Without Music
John Masefield - A Song at Parting
WH Auden - Funeral Blues
Dylan Thomas - Do not go gentle into that good night
Robert Frost - Acceptance
loved esp. George Santayana - To W. P. II
and James Whitcomb Riley - Away
Also: Edna St Vincent Millay - Dirge Without Music
John Masefield - A Song at Parting
WH Auden - Funeral Blues
Dylan Thomas - Do not go gentle into that good night
Robert Frost - Acceptance
September 8, 2014
A collection of poems with the common theme of death, grief, and healing. There are some well-known inspirational works - beginning with the 23rd Psalm, probably one of the loveliest and best known chapters of the Bible. There is "Requiem" by Robert Louis Stevenson and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas. There are also plenty of lesser known poems that were also very touching, such as "The First Snow-Fall" by James Russell Lowell or "When I am Dead" by Christina Georgina Rossetti.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews