Helen Hay Whitney

Helen Hay Whitney Poems

THE RUDDY poppies bend and bow,
Diane! do you remember?
The sun you knew shines proudly now,
...

Earth holds no sweeter secret anywhere
Than this my brook, that lisps along the green
Of mossy channels, where slim birch trees lean
...

WAS there another Spring than this?
I half remember, through the haze
Of glimmering nights and golden days,
...

KISS me but once, and in that space supreme
My whole dark life shall quiver to an end,
Sweet Death shall see my heart and comprehend
...

I WILL not look for him, I will not hear
My heart's loud beating, as I strain to see
Across the rain forlorn and hopelessly,
...

SIGH not for love,—the ways of love are dark!
Sweet Child, hold up the hollow of your hand
And catch the sparks that flutter from the star!
...

DOES the pearl know, that in its shade and sheen,
The dreamy rose and tender wavering green,
Are hid the hearts of all the ranging seas,
That Beauty weeps for gifts as fair as these?
...

Must I leave you in the mountains,
Boy o' Dreams?
Must I leave you where the fountains
...

Helen Hay Whitney Biography

Helen Julia Hay Whitney (March 11, 1875 – September 24, 1944) was an American poet, writer, racehorse owner/breeder, socialite, and philanthropist. She was a member by marriage of the prominent Whitney family of New York. She was the daughter of Clara Louise Stone, and her husband, John Milton Hay, who served as the United States Ambassador to Great Britain and United States Secretary of State. Helen Hay was a poet and an author of books for children. A number of her poems were published in Harper's Magazine. A poem of hers, 'Love of the Rose' was used in Leon Ardin's opera, Antony and Cleopatra (Act 2, no. 15). Herbs And Apples (1910) is a collection of poems that she published using what she had given for The Metropolitan Magazine, and Collier's Weekly. "Songs and Sonnets," "Gypsy Verses" are also some of her works produced in such a manner. Several of her works have been republished in the 21st century. In 1902 she married Payne Whitney with whom she had a daughter, Joan, and a son, John. The couple built a home at 972 Fifth Avenue in New York City designed by Stanford White. Helen Hay Whitney lived there until her death in 1944. The government of France acquired the property in 1952 and is part of the French Embassy in the United States. The Whitneys also owned a 438-acre (1.77 km2) estate in Manhasset, New York they called Greentree and Greentree Stable. After her husbands death in 1927, she managed Greentree Stable and it continued to be a major force in Thoroughbred flat and steeplechase horse racing. Her horses won the American Grand National steeplechase in 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1937. In flat racing, her horses won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1931 and 1942.)

The Best Poem Of Helen Hay Whitney

To Diane

THE RUDDY poppies bend and bow,
Diane! do you remember?
The sun you knew shines proudly now,
The lake still lists the breeze's vow,
Your towers are fairer for their stains,
Each stone you smiled upon remains.
Sing low—where is Diane?
Diane! do you remember?

I come to find you through the years,
Diane! do you remember?
For none may rule my love's soft fears.
The ladies now are not your peers,
I seek you through your tarnished halls,
Pale sorrow on my spirit falls,
High, low—where is Diane?
Diane! do you remember?

I crush the poppies where I tread,
Diane! do you remember?
Your flower of life, so bright, so red—
She does not hear—Diane is dead.
I pace the sunny bowers alone
Where naught of her remains but stone.
Sing low—where is Diane?
Diane does not remember.

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