Alfred Noyes



Alfred Noyes (16 September 1880 – 28 June 1958) was an English poet, short-story writer and playwright.

Quotes


The burdened hearts of men! Not on the cloud, but on the rock Build thou thy faith again'''; O range no more the realms of air, Stoop to the glen-bound streams; Thy hope was all too like despair: Enough, enough of dreams.
 * '''Enough of dreams! No longer mock
 * "The Secret Inn : 'The Kingdom is Within You'" in Master Mind Magazine, Vol. VII, No. 3 (December 1914), p. 99

To men in their own tongue! Leave not the breaking heart to break Because thine own is strong.''' This is the law, in dream and deed, That heaven must walk on earth! O, shine upon the humble creed That holds the heavenly birth.
 * '''Descend, descend, Urania, speak
 * "The Secret Inn : 'The Kingdom is Within You'" in Master Mind Magazine, Vol. VII, No. 3 (December 1914), p. 99

Thoughts without sound; Sorrowful thoughts that filled me with helpless wonder And held me bound.'''
 * '''A shadow leaned over me, whispering, in the darkness,
 * "The Shadow" in The Empire Review (1923) Vol. 37, p. 620

Till the grey dawn.
 * Soundlessly, shadow with shadow, we wrestled together,
 * "The Shadow" in The Empire Review (1923) Vol. 37, p. 620

Our freedom of the seas, Have sons of Britain dared and done More valiantly than these.
 * Never since Drake and Raleigh won
 * To the R.A.F., in Shadows on the Down and Other Poems (1941), p. 2

Poems (1906)

 * Full text online



Like a prismatic glass, It takes the light and ranges Through all the moods that pass'''; Dissects the common carnival Of passions and regrets, And gives the world a glimpse of all The colours it forgets.
 * '''Yes; as the music changes,
 * The Barrel Organ

Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!) And you shall wander hand in hand with love in summer's wonderland; Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!)
 * Go down to Kew in lilac-time, in lilac-time, in lilac-time;
 * The Barrel Organ

We were only singing seamen from the dirt of Londontown.
 * There was music all about us, we were growing quite forgetful
 * Forty Singing Seamen


 * There’s a magic in the distance, where the sea-line meets the sky.
 * Forty Singing Seamen

The Highwayman (1907)

 * Full text online

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding — Riding — riding — The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.
 * The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,

But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light. Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day, Then look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way.
 * One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight,

The Flower of Old Japan and Other Poems (1907)

 * Full text online

The Flower of Old Japan


I am the Wisdom Looking-Glass.' ''This is the Ruby none can touch: Many have loved it overmuch; Its fathomless fires flutter and sigh, Being as images of the flame That shall make earth and heaven the same When the fire of the end reddens the sky, And the world consumes like a burning pall, Till where there is nothing, there is all.''
 * 'Mystery: Time and Tide shall pass,
 * Part III : The Mystic Ruby

And stared at the writing round the frame. We could not understand one word: And suddenly we thought we heard The hissing of the snakes again: How could we front them all alone? O, madly we clutched at the mirrored stone And wished we were back on the flowery plain: And swifter than thought and swift as fear The whole world flashed, and behold we were there.
 * Back to the glass in terror we came,
 * Part III : The Mystic Ruby

The glass that had whirled us thither away: And in the grass, among the flowers We sat and wished all sorts of things: O, we were wealthier than kings! We ruled the world for several hours! And then, it seemed, we knew not why, All the daisies began to die. We wished them alive again; but soon The trees all fled up towards the moon Like peacocks through the sunlit air: And the butterflies flapped into silver fish; And each wish spoiled another wish; Till we threw the glass down in despair; For, '''getting whatever you want to get, Is like drinking tea from a fishing net.'''
 * And at our feet unbroken lay
 * Part III : The Mystic Ruby

We heard a wanderer out on the plain Singing what none of us understood; Yet we thought that the world grew thrice more sweet And the meadows were blossoming under his feet. And we felt a grand and beautiful fear, For we knew that a marvellous thought drew near; So we kept the glass for a little while: And the skies grew deeper and twice as bright, And the seas grew soft as a flower of light, And the meadows rippled from stile to stile; And memories danced in a musical throng Thro' the blossom that scented the wonderful song.
 * But just as the world grew right again,
 * Part III : The Mystic Ruby

The Flower above all other flowers, The Flower that never dies; Before whose throne the scented hours Offer their sacrifice; The Flower that here on earth below Reveals the heavenly plan; But only little children know The Flower of Old Japan.''
 * ''The Flower of Old Japan.
 * Song

Slowly through the scented gloom Crept once more the ruddy gleam O'er the friendly nursery room. There, before our waking eyes, Large and ghostly, white and dim, Dreamed the Flower that never dies, Opening wide its rosy rim.
 * Like the dawn upon a dream
 * Part IV : The End of the Quest

Heaven for a looking-glass!''' Every little valley lies Under many-clouded skies; Every little cottage stands Girt about with boundless lands; '''Every little glimmering pond Claims the mighty shores beyond; Shores no seaman ever hailed, Seas no ship has ever sailed. All the shores when day is done Fade into the setting sun, So the story tries to teach More than can be told in speech.'''
 * '''Carol, every violet has
 * Epilogue

Truth is but a wizard's tower, Where a solemn death-bell tolls, And a forest round it rolls.
 * Beauty is a fading flower,
 * Epilogue

To the Light that holds the days; We have sought in haunts of fear For that all-enfolding sphere: And lo! it was not far, but near.''' We have found, O foolish-fond, The shore that has no shore beyond. '''Deep in every heart it lies With its untranscended skies; For what heaven should bend above Hearts that own the heaven of love?'''
 * '''We have come by curious ways
 * Epilogue

Forest of Wild Thyme
I would not have you think me blind''' To all the wisdom that you preach; Yet before I strictlier run In straiter lines of chiselled speech, Give me one more hour, just one Hour to hunt the fairy gleam That flutters through this childish dream.
 * '''Critics, you have been so kind,
 * Apologia

All too soon the gleam will go'''; Yet I love it and shall love My dream that brooks no narrower bars Than bind the darkening heavens above, My Jack o'Lanthorn of the stars: Then, I'll follow it no more, I'll light the lamp: I'll close the door.
 * '''It mocks me as it flies, I know:
 * Apologia

No one would believe us if we told them what we know, Or they wouldn't grieve for Peterkin, merry little Peterkin...
 * Come and look for Peterkin, poor little Peterkin.
 * Prelude

'''Put away your muskets, lay aside the drum, Hang it by the wooden sword we made for little Peterkin!'''
 * They wouldn't mourn for Peterkin, merry little Peterkin.
 * Prelude

Pile your arms beneath it, for the owlet light is come, We'll wander through the roses where we marched of old with Peterkin, We'll search the summer sunset where the Hybla beehives hum, And — if we meet a fairy there — we'll ask for news of Peterkin.
 * He was once our trumpeter, now his bugle's dumb,

Drake, an English Epic (1908)


Of the world's weal afar, Have ye met with derision And the red laugh of war; Yet the thunder shall not hurt you, Nor the battle-storms dismay; Tho' the sun in heaven desert you, "Love will find out the way."
 * Ye that follow the vision
 * Song, Book VIII, p. 146

The shadow of a dream, Your sages may deem it A bubble on the stream; Yet our kingdom draweth nigher With each dawn and every day, Through the earthquake and the fire "Love will find out the way."'''
 * '''Your dreamers may dream it
 * Song, Book VIII, p. 146

Of beauty, love, and wisdom round the world, Dawn, like a wild-rose in the fields of heaven Washed grey with dew, awoke, and found the barque At anchor in a little land-locked bay.
 * Dawn, ever bearing some divine increase
 * Book VIII, p. 148

Collected Poems (1913)

 * Full text online

Breathing beneath the mountain's fragrant breast
 * Once more I hear the everlasting sea
 * Resurrection

Save where, perchance (and ah, the joy was fleet), We laid our garlands in the sun At the white Sea-born's feet.
 * We plucked down all His altars, left not one
 * Resurrection

The wintry veil was rent! The new-born day Showed us the Angel seated in the tomb And the stone rolled away.
 * "He is dead," we cried, and even amid that gloom
 * Resurrection

The Golden Hynde and Other Poems (1914)


Love lies hidden in every rose!''' Every song that the skylark sung Once, we thought, must come to a close: Now we know the spirit of song, Song that is merged in the chant of the whole, Hand in hand as we wander along, What should we doubt of the years that roll?
 * '''Heart of my heart, the world is young;
 * Unity, § I

Love triumphant in flower and tree, Every life that laughs at the sky Tells us nothing can cease to be: '''One, we are one with the song to-day, One with the clover that scents the world, One with the Unknown, far away, One with the stars, when earth grows old.'''
 * Heart of my heart, we cannot die!
 * Unity, § II

One with the clouds that are whirled o'er the lea, One in many, O broken and blind, One as the waves are at one with the sea!''' Ay! when life seems scattered apart, Darkens, ends as a tale that is told, One, we are one, O heart of my heart, One, still one, while the world grows old.
 * '''Heart of my heart, we are one with the wind,
 * Unity, § III

A Belgian Christmas Eve (1915)

 * Full text online



Whose footsteps are not known, To-night a world that turned from Thee Is waiting — at Thy Throne.''' The towering Babels that we raised Where scoffing sophists brawl, The little Antichrists we praised — The night is on them all.
 * '''Thou whose deep ways are in the sea,
 * Dedication, later published as "A Prayer in Time of War"

And we, who deemed him wise, We, who believed that Thou wast dead, How should we seek Thine eyes?''' How should we seek to Thee for power, Who scorned Thee yesterday? How should we kneel in this dread hour? Lord, teach us how to pray.
 * '''The fool hath said … The fool hath said
 * Dedication, later published as "A Prayer in Time of War"

That mocks no sacred thing, The Sword of Truth our fathers wore When Thou wast Lord and King.''' Let darkness unto darkness tell Our deep unspoken prayer; '''For, while our souls in darkness dwell, We know that Thou art there.'''
 * '''Grant us the single heart once more
 * Dedication, later published as "A Prayer in Time of War"

The Lord of Misrule and Other Poems (1915)

 * Full text online at Project Gutenberg



O, shake your bells and sing; Let the porch bend, the pillars bow, Before our Lord, the Spring!
 * Come up, with white and crimson!
 * The Lord of Misrule

This Lord of all misrule— I think it was Will Summers That once was Shakespeare's fool — Held up his hand for silence, And all the church grew still: "And are you snoring yet," he said, "Or have you slept your fill?
 * High in the old oak pulpit
 * The Lord of Misrule

Where Youth and Love go wading through pools of primroses. And this is the sign we bring you, before the darkness fall, That Spring is risen, is risen again, That Life is risen, is risen again, That Love is risen, is risen again, and Love is Lord of all.'''
 * '''Your God still walks in Eden, between the ancient trees,
 * The Lord of Misrule

And, ere Pentecost, our May; Because, albeit your words be true, You know not what you say. You chatter in church like jackdaws, Words that would wake the dead, Were there one breath of life in you, One drop of blood," he said.
 * "At Paske began our morrice
 * The Lord of Misrule

You know not what you mean. Our rafters were of green fir. Also our beds were green. But out of the mouth of a fool, a fool, before the darkness fall, '''We tell you He is risen again, The Lord of Life is risen again, The boughs put forth their tender buds, and Love is Lord of all!'''
 * He died and He went down to hell!
 * The Lord of Misrule

They bowed their heads as well. And softly from the organ-loft The song began to swell.
 * He bowed his head. He stood so still,

Come up with blood-red streamers, The reeds began the strain. The vox humana pealed on high, The Spring is risen again!
 * The Lord of Misrule

Our house-beams were of cedar. Come in, with boughs of may! The diapason deepened it — Before the darkness fall, We tell you He is risen again! Our God hath burst His prison again! The Lord of Life is risen again; and Love is Lord of all.''
 * The vox angelica replied — ''The shadows flee away!
 * The Lord of Misrule

And dreamers that we thought were dumb, And voices that we thought were fled, Arise, and call us, and we come; And "search in thine own soul," they cry; "For there, too, lurks thine enemy."
 * And captains that we thought were dead,

Search for the foe in thine own soul, The sloth, the intellectual pride; The trivial jest that veils the goal For which our fathers lived and died; The lawless dreams, the cynic Art, That rend thy nobler self apart.
 * The Search-Lights

These level swords of light can pierce; Yet for her faith does England fight, Her faith in this our universe; Believing Truth and Justice draw From founts of everlasting law;
 * Not far, not far into the night,

Therefore a Power above the State, The unconquerable Power returns. The fire, the fire that made her great Once more upon her altar burns. Once more, redeemed and healed and whole, She moves to the Eternal Goal.
 * The Search-Lights

A thousand warring social schemes, A thousand new moralities, And twenty thousand thousand dreams!'''
 * 'A thousand creeds and battle-cries,

Each on his own anarchic way, From the old order breaking free, — '''Our ruined world desires, you say, License, once more, not Liberty.'
 * Forward

Because we bring the future, know We only fight to achieve at last A great re-union with our foe;
 * We, that like foemen meet the past

Re-union in the truths that stand When all our wars are rolled away; Re-union of the heart and hand And of the prayers wherewith we pray;

Re-union in the common needs, The common strivings of mankind; Re-union of our warring creeds In the one God that dwells behind.
 * Forward

Wrong with new wrong, but right with right; Our faith shall make your faith complete When our battalions re-unite.
 * Then — in that day — we shall not meet

Forward! — what use in idle words? — Forward, O warriors of the soul! There will be breaking up of swords When that new morning makes us whole.
 * Forward

Songs of Shadow-of-a-leaf and other poems (1924)
Breaks, blindly, against the shore.'''
 * '''Memory, out of the mist, in a long slow ripple
 * "Seagulls on the Serpentine"