Poems by Katherine Mansfield | Poetree

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There is a Solemn Wind To-Night

There is a Solemn Wind To-Night

There is a solemn wind to-night

That sings of solemn rain;

The trees that have been quiet so long

Flutter and start again.

The slender trees, the heavy trees,

The fruit trees laden and proud,

Lift up their branches to the wind

That cries to them so loud.

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Katherine Mansfield

Waves

Waves

I saw a tiny God

Sitting

Under a bright blue umbrella

That had white tassels

And forked ribs of gold.

Below him His little world

Lay open to the sun.

The shadow of His hat

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Katherine Mansfield

Secret Flowers

Secret Flowers

Is love a light for me? A steady light,

A lamp within whose pallid pool I dream

Over old love-books? Or is it a gleam,

A lantern coming towards me from afar

Down a dark mountain? Is my love a star?

Ah me!- so high above so coldly bright!

The fire dances. Is my love a fire

Leaping down the twilight muddy and bold?

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Katherine Mansfield

Song by the Window Before Bed

Song by the Window Before Bed

Little Star, little Star,

Come down quick.

The Moon is a bogey-man;

He'll eat you certain if he can.

Little Star, little Star,

Come down quick!

Little Star, little Star,

Whisper "Yes."

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Katherine Mansfield

The Lonesome Child

The Lonesome Child

The baby in the looking-glass

Is smiling through at me;

She has her teaspoon in her hand,

Her feeder on for tea.

And if I look behind her I

Can see the table spread;

I wonder if she has to eat

The nasty crusts of bread.

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Katherine Mansfield

A New Hymn

A New Hymn

Sing a song of men's pyjamas,

Half-past-six has got a pair,

And he's wearing them this evening,

And he's looking such a dear.

Sing a song of frocks with pockets

I have got one, it is so's

I can use my `nitial hankies

Every time I blow my nose.

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Katherine Mansfield

In the Rangitaki Valley

In the Rangitaki Valley

valley of waving broom,

O lovely, lovely light,

O hear of the world, red-gold!

Breast high in the blossom I stand;

It beats about me like waves

Of a magical, golden sea

The barren heart of the world

Alive at the kiss of the sun,

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Katherine Mansfield

Night-Scented Stock

Night-Scented Stock

White, white in the milky night

The moon danced over a tree.

"Wouldn't it be lovely to swim in the lake!"

Someone whispered to me.

"Oh, do-do-do!" cooed someone else,

And clasped her hands to her chin.

"I should so love to see the white bodies—

All the white bodies jump in!"

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Katherine Mansfield

The Storm

The Storm

I Ran to the forest for shelter,

Breathless, half sobbing;

I put my arms round a tree,

Pillowed my head against the rough bark.

"Protect me," I said. "I am a lost child."

But the tree showered silver drops on my face and hair.

A wind sprang up from the ends of the earth;

It lashed the forest together.

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Katherine Mansfield

Now I Am a Plant, a Weed

Now I Am a Plant, a Weed

Now I am a plant, a weed,

Bending and swinging

On a rocky ledge;

And now I am a long brown grass

Fluttering like flame;

I am a reed;

An old shell singing

For ever the same;

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Katherine Mansfield

On a Young Lady's Sixth Anniversary

On a Young Lady's Sixth Anniversary

Baby Babbles—only one,

Now to sit up has begun.

Little Babbles quite turned two

Walks as well as I and you.

And Miss Babbles one, two, three,

Has a teaspoon at her tea.

But her Highness at four

Learns to open the front door.

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Katherine Mansfield

Jangling Memory

Jangling Memory

Heavens above! here's an old tie of your—

Sea-green dragons stamped on a golden ground.

Ha! Ha! Ha! What children we were in those days.

Do you love me enough to wear it now?

Have you the courage of your pristine glories?

Ha! Ha! Ha! You laugh and shrug your shoulders.

Those were the days when a new tie spelt a fortune:

We wore it in turn—I flaunted it as a waist-belt.

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Katherine Mansfield