Poems I love

W. H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Where There's a Will There's a Way - Eliza Cook

WE have faith in old proverbs full surely, 
For Wisdom has traced what they tell, 
And Truth may be drawn up as purely 
From them, as it may from "a well." 
Let us question the thinkers and doers, 
And hear what they honestly say; 
And you'll find they believe, like bold wooers, 
In "Where there's a will there's a way." 

The hills have been high for man's mounting, 
The woods have been dense for his axe, 
The stars have been thick for his counting, 
The sands have been wide for his tracks, 
The sea has been deep for his diving, 
The poles have been broad for his sway, 
But bravely he's proved in his sriving, 
That "Where there's a will there's a way." 

Have ye vices that ask a destroyer? 
Or passions that need your control? 
Let Reason become your employer, 
And your body be ruled by your soul. 
Fight on, though ye bleed in the trial, 
Resist with all strength that ye may; 
Ye may conquer Sin's host by denial; 
For "Where there's a will there's a way." 

Have ye Poverty's pinching to cope with? 
Does Suffering weigh down your might? 
Only call up a spirit to hope with, 
And dawn may come out of the night. 
Oh! much may be done by defying 
The ghosts of Despair and Dismay; 
And much may be gained by relying 
On "Where there's a will there's a way." 

Should ye see, afar off, that worth winning, 
Set out on the journey with trust; 
And ne'er heed if your path at beginning 
Should be among brambles and dust. 
Though it is but by footsteps ye do it, 
And hardships may hinder and stay; 
Walk with faith, and be sure you'll get through it; 
For "Where there's a will there's a way."