The Chained Muse

... Among the shadows of the groaning elms,           

amid the darkening oaks, we fled ourselves ...

... Once there were paths that led to coracles

that clung to piers like loosening barnacles ...

... where we cannot retur...

November sings in minor chords,
in broken light, in maimèd rites,
and brings her own ghost rewards
to forgotten and forgetful men alike,
to poor souls lashed to masts in storms,
to all who, lashed by moonless nights
(moonless nights that see no end),
can find no harbou...

Modernism produces obscure poetry because it denies the existence of absolute truth. Without a fundamental truth to reveal, poetry is relegated to presenting a series of images for the reader to supply the meaning of the text. Hart Crane and the pioneers of modernist p...

In the deep of the night do my restless thoughts roam

   To the moon-flooded fields of the sky,

And they search for a pure and ethereal home,

   Where emotions and thoughts never die.

Where the mountains and valleys of silvery cloud

   Are eternally calling to me,...

The sun rose slowly o'er the hill.
My cold, dark night with light did fill.
Alone did stand a single pine,
Where once you sang me songs of thine.

They strengthened me each lonely day,
And in my dreams at night did play.
They chased away my grief and strife;
I focused...

When torrid Summer’s greenery,

Its vibrant hues and spiced perfume

Lie far, fast-fading memory,

                           Your flowers bloom.

When...

I sit here lonely on a hill

Where skies are clear and blue;

The sunset casts a glowing veil

Over the deep and tranquil dale—

I used to love this view.

I walked with my beloved there,

She was so close, so dear.

I saw within the mountain streams,

In sky and clouds, like passing...

BUT for the cruel aspersions upon the character and life of America’s poetic genius, EDGAR ALLAN POE, this volume would have remained unwritten. EDGAR ALLAN POE has been more misunderstood than any other poet of the recent past. While his life was beautiful and inspire...