Joseph Skipsey Poems

I MIGHT have wish's it otherwise;
But yet, poor heart, tho' they were cruel—
Those thunder-clouds above her eyes,
They very much became the jewel!
...

HER harp she takes, from string to string,
Her little snowy fingers, glancing,
Into Night's ear a wild spell fling,
And all the while my heart is dancing.
...

A CLOUD the valley domes, and down
Yon erewhile sun-lit mountain stealth,
And bit by bit, with one black frown,
The green and gold below concealed.
...

BACK flies my soul to other years,
When thou that charming lay repeatest,
When smiles were only chased by tears,
Yet sweeter far than smiles the sweetest.
...

JUST let the Owl of Evil howl;
To mourners of each rank and station, I cry,
Come, troll the Golden Bowl!
And quaff me with a deep potation.
...

WHEN Day once stirs, her locks of gold,
Up, seize, ere she is well awaken!
And with her steps thy paces hold,
Till she from Earth her leave hath taken.
...

MY wee, wee fawn, you see me yawn?
Well, I'm not much disposed to flattery;
And were I so, you rogue! you know
You're proof against the fiercest battery.
...

TRUTH'S words are oft so very true―
And always when my lips he uses,
His foes, which let us hope, are few,
Declare he but the truth abuses.
...

A THOUGHT TOILER, faint and o'ercome by his labours,
And the manifold troubles by which he was girt,
Combined with the titters and sneers of his neighbours,
Lost heart, and thus vented the pangs of his heart:—
...

I'm the spirit Enimalina, thy guardian angel, and
Drawn hither by a subtle law but few can understand—
The golden cord of sympathy, I leave the summer-land,
Thy aching brows with lilies to entwine.
...