Songs and Satires By: Edgar Lee Masters (1868-1950)
First Page: SONGS AND SATIRES THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO SONGS AND SATIRES By EDGAR LEE MASTERS AUTHOR OF "SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY" New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1916 All rights reserved COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1916. Reprinted March, June, 1916. Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co. Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A For permission to print in book form certain of these poems I wish to acknowledge an indebtedness to Poetry , The Smart Set , The Little Review , The Cosmopolitan Magazine , and William Marion Reedy, Editor of Reedy's Mirror . CONTENTS PAGE SILENCE 1 ST. FRANCIS AND LADY CLARE 4 THE COCKED HAT 10 THE VISION 18 SO WE GREW TOGETHER 21 RAIN IN MY HEART 31 THE LOOP 32 WHEN UNDER THE ICY EAVES 40 IN THE CAR 41 SIMON SURNAMED PETER 43 ALL LIFE IN A LIFE 47 WHAT YOU WILL 56 THE CITY 57 THE IDIOT 65 HELEN OF TROY 68 O GLORIOUS FRANCE 71 FOR A DANCE 74 WHEN LIFE IS REAL 76 THE QUESTION 78 THE ANSWER 79 THE SIGN 80 WILLIAM MARION REEDY 82 A STUDY 85 PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN 88 IN THE CAGE 91 SAVING A WOMAN: ONE PHASE 95 LOVE IS A MADNESS 97 ON A BUST 98 ARABEL 101 JIM AND ARABEL'S SISTER 108 THE SORROW OF DEAD FACES 116 THE CRY 119 THE HELPING HAND 120 THE DOOR 121 SUPPLICATION 122 THE CONVERSATION 125 TERMINUS 130 MADELINE 132 MARCIA 134 THE ALTAR 135 SOUL'S DESIRE 137 BALLAD OF LAUNCELOT AND ELAINE 140 THE DEATH OF LAUNCELOT 149 IN MICHIGAN 156 THE STAR 166 SONGS AND SATIRES SILENCE I have known the silence of the stars and of the sea, And the silence of the city when it pauses, And the silence of a man and a maid, And the silence for which music alone finds the word, And the silence of the woods before the winds of spring begin, And the silence of the sick When their eyes roam about the room. And I ask: For the depths Of what use is language? A beast of the field moans a few times When death takes its young: And we are voiceless in the presence of realities We cannot speak. A curious boy asks an old soldier Sitting in front of the grocery store, "How did you lose your leg?" And the old soldier is struck with silence, Or his mind flies away, Because he cannot concentrate it on Gettysburg. It comes back jocosely And he says, "A bear bit it off." And the boy wonders, while the old soldier Dumbly, feebly lives over The flashes of guns, the thunder of cannon, The shrieks of the slain, And himself lying on the ground, And the hospital surgeons, the knives, And the long days in bed. But if he could describe it all He would be an artist... Continue reading book >>

Songs and Satires By: Edgar Lee Masters (1868-1950)

First Page:

SONGS AND SATIRES

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO

MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO

SONGS AND SATIRES

By EDGAR LEE MASTERS

AUTHOR OF "SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY"

New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1916

Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1916. Reprinted March, June, 1916.

Norwood Press J. S. Cushing Co. Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A

For permission to print in book form certain of these poems I wish to acknowledge an indebtedness to Poetry , The Smart Set , The Little Review , The Cosmopolitan Magazine , and William Marion Reedy, Editor of Reedy's Mirror .

CONTENTS

PAGE

SILENCE 1

ST. FRANCIS AND LADY CLARE 4

THE COCKED HAT 10

THE VISION 18

SO WE GREW TOGETHER 21

RAIN IN MY HEART 31

THE LOOP 32

WHEN UNDER THE ICY EAVES 40

IN THE CAR 41

SIMON SURNAMED PETER 43

ALL LIFE IN A LIFE 47

WHAT YOU WILL 56

THE CITY 57

THE IDIOT 65

HELEN OF TROY 68

O GLORIOUS FRANCE 71

FOR A DANCE 74

WHEN LIFE IS REAL 76

THE QUESTION 78

THE ANSWER 79

THE SIGN 80

WILLIAM MARION REEDY 82

A STUDY 85

PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN 88

IN THE CAGE 91

SAVING A WOMAN: ONE PHASE 95

LOVE IS A MADNESS 97

ON A BUST 98

ARABEL 101

JIM AND ARABEL'S SISTER 108

THE SORROW OF DEAD FACES 116

THE CRY 119

THE HELPING HAND 120

THE DOOR 121

SUPPLICATION 122

THE CONVERSATION 125

TERMINUS 130

MADELINE 132

MARCIA 134

THE ALTAR 135

SOUL'S DESIRE 137

BALLAD OF LAUNCELOT AND ELAINE 140

THE DEATH OF LAUNCELOT 149

IN MICHIGAN 156

THE STAR 166

SONGS AND SATIRES

SILENCE

I have known the silence of the stars and of the sea, And the silence of the city when it pauses, And the silence of a man and a maid, And the silence for which music alone finds the word, And the silence of the woods before the winds of spring begin, And the silence of the sick When their eyes roam about the room. And I ask: For the depths Of what use is language? A beast of the field moans a few times When death takes its young: And we are voiceless in the presence of realities We cannot speak.

A curious boy asks an old soldier Sitting in front of the grocery store, "How did you lose your leg?" And the old soldier is struck with silence, Or his mind flies away, Because he cannot concentrate it on Gettysburg. It comes back jocosely And he says, "A bear bit it off." And the boy wonders, while the old soldier Dumbly, feebly lives over The flashes of guns, the thunder of cannon, The shrieks of the slain, And himself lying on the ground, And the hospital surgeons, the knives, And the long days in bed. But if he could describe it all He would be an artist... Continue reading book >>

eBook links
Wikipedia – Edgar Lee Masters
Wikipedia – Songs and Satires

eBook Downloads
ePUB eBook • iBooks for iPhone and iPad • Nook • Sony Reader	Kindle eBook • Mobi file format for Kindle
Read eBook • Load eBook in browser	Text File eBook • Computers • Windows • Mac