Poem Lake | Page 3 | The Greatest Poems of All Time

Before the Rain We knew it would rain, for all the morn A spirit on slender ropes of mist Was lowering its golden buckets down Into the vapory amethyst Of marshes and swamps and dismal fens— Scooping the dew that lay in the flowers, Dipping the jewels out... Poet: Thomas Bailey Aldrich	After the Rain The Rain has ceased, and in my room The sunshine pours an airy flood; And on the church’s dizzy vane The ancient Cross is bathed in blood. From out the dripping ivy-leaves, Antiquely carven, gray and high, A dormer, facing westward, looks... Poet: Thomas Bailey Aldrich	Outward Bound I Leave behind me the elm-shadowed square And carven portals of the silent street, And wander on with listless, vagrant feet Through seaward-leading alleys, till the air Smells of the sea, and straightway then the care Slips from my heart, and life once... Poet: Thomas Bailey Aldrich	Broken Music “A note All out of tune in this world’s instrument.” —AMY LEVY. I KNOW not in what fashion she was made, Nor what her voice was, when she used to speak, Nor if the silken lashes threw a shade On wan or rosy... Poet: Thomas Bailey Aldrich
On an Intaglio Head of Minerva Beneath the warrior’s helm, behold The flowing tresses of the woman! Minerva, Pallas, what you will— A winsome creature, Greek or Roman. Minerva? No! ’t is some sly minx In cousin’s helmet masquerading; If not—then Wisdom was a dame... Poet: Thomas Bailey Aldrich	Guilielmus Rex The Folk who lived in Shakespeare’s day And saw that gentle figure pass By London Bridge, his frequent way— They little knew what man he was. The pointed beard, the courteous mien, The equal port to high and low, All this they saw or might have... Poet: Thomas Bailey Aldrich	Tennyson Shakespeare and Milton—what third blazoned name Shall lips of after-ages link to these? His who, beside the wild encircling seas, Was England’s voice, her voice with one acclaim, For three score years; whose word of praise was fame, Whose scorn gave... Poet: Thomas Bailey Aldrich