S* c c - cc c*r , C (C C C<< (C £ | c c «e S&CC ■'.< -,~C C c c c cc; f( % c C Cc c K.c ; ^«- cccc: cc < w, ?c c r cr ccc c c: •. cac. ccc «. ^C<^ [C c^ «7 CCC CT C3C ( < ccc <*aT c c « cc < C "C «« cc cc ccsccccc^- cc ccc^ cccy^ f CC C^CC CCCCCC C > c Ccc c «c c C Cc cc^C cc ccc c cc Cc< ( CCC ' CCj&C cap. CCCC CCCC ccccc cc cCcccC < ccctC ^ C-ccc. € c-ccc 5 ■ ckkC J o. C C ^ COPYRIGHT 1895, BY CHARLES J. BARRETT. CONTENTS. POEMS BY TIMOTHY BARRETT. A Birthday Ballade, 16 A Duel, ------- 15 A Fragment From Homer's Iliad, - - - 67 Come Underneath the Locust, ... 22 Death and the Grave, ----- 14 Epilogue, ...--. 9 s Extra Muros, .... ... 82 Gallach-na-Cumlauch, .... 25 heimgang, ...... 47 In the Twilight, ..... g My Love Lay Dead, ... - 47 On the Birthday of Burns, - - 56 Prelude, ...... 2 Psalm 137, ... 66 Rondel, -------40 Rondel, ------- 42 Sestina, -.--.-- 43 Songs of Three Loves, Eurydice, ------ 86 Hero, 86 Juliet, ------ 87 The Bells, ------ 69 The Birth of the New Year, - - - - 12 The King's Sacrifice, - ■ - 80 The Love and Death of Hero and Leander, 3 The Poet's Apology, - 35 The Poet's Paradise, . .... 84 The Thrush Will Sing no More, - - - 26 Under the Stars, 19 Vade Mecum, ------ 54 Whispering Murmurs of Death, - - - 11 POEMS BY CHARLES J. BARRETT. A Eallade of Players, .... 30 A Dream, ------- 17 A Christmas Card, ----- 93 Alfred Tennyson, - - - 56 A Memory of Tennyson, - 32 Anderson as Juliet, - - - - 63 At the Grave, ------ 63 Ballade of Dead Ladies, - - - 65 Ballade of Old Songs, - - - - 31 Ballade of the Wistful Heart, - - - 29 Broken Trust, ------ 46 Christmas Eve, ------ y4 claudian, ------ 62 Easter, - - - - 96 Entitled; The War Horses, ... 68 In an Album, - 89 In Memoriam, - - 49 John McCullough, - - 59 Life and Death, - 9 Lilith, - - - - 75 My Love Lies Dreaming, - 41 Oh ! Gleaming Star, - - 45 On a Picture, - 36 On Receiving Some Violets, - 90 Orpheus and Eurydice, - - - 78 Proem, The Poet's Defence, - \ - - - 20 Rondel, ----- 44 Shakespeare, - - - - - 51. The King of Thule, - 66 The Love of the Irish Girl, - - 34 The Old Year and the New, 27 The Poet, - - 85 The Summer Girl, - 87 The Two Paths, - - 97 The Whippoorwill, - - 23 To a Child, - - - 33 To a Vanished Singer, - - 57 With a Flower, - - - - 38 With Laughter and Song, ... 39 PRELUDE. AX /HERE gleams the moving tents of night I stand And see far off, the glint of drooping flags Low furled and trailed along the shining sunpath: I sing, And every bush the song reverberates Till I am shamed to silence. Yea, a million tongues swell the canticle That peals on every slope and hollow vale, And rock. All music mad the singers spring On lightning pinions poised to meet the sun — Then passes all. I hear all this, and know that overseas The tents are moving still; that overseas The song is still prolonged; yea, never hushes, Nor will ever hush, until the winds Are stilled, and silent seas no longer sound Their symphony]! The Love and Death of Hero And Leander. A ItlME DRAMA. TIERO leaned from her lonely tower Beside which lay the sleeping sea ; As she bent low, the purple flower Her hand caressed, shook tremulously. To the casement walls the pale flowers cling, Was not Hero sometime pale ? As now, when she hears the sea winds sing The rhyme of a wave worn tale. She looked at the stars, and the stars swam down So near she could hear their song; She looked at the sea that silver shone Lit by the wet stars hid among: "Under what stars does Leander stray When tides tarry and winds are free? Tides that ravish, and wind beat bay! Bring my lover to me !" No voice replied in the silent hall No sound was heard from leaf, or tree, No echo stirred on the mossy wall — But a song came up from the sea. First Voice: — I am the mad tide And the seas all time I ride With me is evil and woe; I touch on every shore And am with darkness plied As I flow. Second Voice: — I am the sad tide And the seas all time I ride With me the pale ghosts row; I gather on every shore The souls of men that have died, As I flow. Third VOICE: — I am the love tide And the seas all time I ride In search of hearts that glow; I find them on every shore With fire their souls are tried, As I flow. Fourth Votck: — I am the birth tide And the seas all time I ride All that is I know; I tarry on every shore Till a newborn babe hath cried, As I flow. Fifth Voicr: — I am the gold tide And the seas all time I ride, And paths I have enow; I ravish every shore Till my greed is all supplied, As I flow. Sixth Voick: — I am the death tide And the seas all time I ride My summer is all snow; I moan on every shore And every sea beside As I flow. But ere the last word had been said The maiden slept, and overhead The moon had vanished; on the sea The song was hushed, and silently The lost stars sauk below the rim Of the horizon's concave, dim. There was no shadow on the hair Apollo courted, for it shone L,ik£ sunset lost, and nestling there, Curling upon the cool stone. There was no light upon her sleeves To show what in the silk sheen lies, Where naked Venus, hapless grieves At her false lover's coquetries. Her neck with many diamonds shone, Albeit they were but pebble stone. And buskins silvered, used she All branched with coral to the knee. And many a wretched lover's rue Was pictured on the kirtle blue; Yea, I saw the cruel stain That wept the souls of many slain ! And as she slept, a light stole out From the barred window wistfully, Rained from her hair where it did float, And sparkled on the sea ! A taper burning over her, A beacon in the night Fed with frankincense and myrrh, — Leander knew the light. Leander fretted on the sand, "Look, Sister! to the North," quoth he; She turned her face at his command, "A star in heaven I see !" But Sisters of another race vSpake not, neither turned a face; One did gather, and one did spin, And one was waiting to begin. Leander tied his angry hair " Look Sister ! to the Fast," quoth he; She turned her face, but only sware "A star in heaven I see !" But Sisters of another race Spake not, neither turned a face, One did gather, and one did spin, And one was pleading to begin. The waves did wet his naked feet, "Look Sister ! to the South," quoth he; She looked, and said, "My brother sweet, A star in heaven I see !" But Sisters of another race Pressed their cold hair against his face; One did gather, and one did spin, And one was weeping to begin. The waters lipped his marble thigh, "Look Sister ! to the East," quoth he; She turned and moaned a little cry, "A star in heaven I see ! " He cast aside his silken vest, "My Sister, thou art blind," quoth he; "Stars may be North, or South, or West, But in the East, all heaven I see ! " The waters beat against his throat, "Look Sister, to my path," quoth he; She looked and saw the white foam float, And naught else could she see. In swam the tides from ever}- shore Out flew the waves to woo; They pressed upon Leander sore, Hell opened to his view ! Down sank he through the waste and foam, And all the seas were rent; When in the fields where he did roam, He made this sore lament. "Love led me here, yet Love is far away, I Sestos sought, but won me Hell's dismay On this waste shore contented would I be Might Hero come, and Love be Love alway! "On this dread coast where moans the bitter sea, Once re-illume Oh, sad Persephone; Let thy great love resume its mighty sway, And send me hence where Hero waits for me." Sweet Hero prayed the angry gods To grant respite from death, The taper glimmered fitfully, She nursed it with her breath. She kissed the winds that hurried past, Some on her breast had sank, And rested while she spake them fair And from her eyes they drank. Then heated by her glowing breast, They madly did assail The torch that feebly did protest Lest their hot wrath prevail. And when the light went out at last Her moans went with its flame, And from the waters rippling past Meander's death song came. And when the sad night was agone, Upon the wave-wet shore She saw a face all white, and wan, Laid by her tower door. She wept, she wept at Love's defeat, Tears trickled in her heart, "That I my true love thus should meet, And here from him must part ! " Her silken robe aside she threw And on his bosom fell ; One shroud at times may do for two, One grave hold two in Hell ! FINIS. -> IN THE TWILIGHT. LI ERE in the twilight, when it is but noon, Day of quick dreams, and night of misery, To my sweet summer the closing comes asoon And finds me naked in adversity. This is the fruit of my sad foolery, Too long I wandered the forsaken street Listening to the play of that foul company, I know it all, the bitter and the sweet! As some poor felon, girt by prison bars, Pleads with the minutes speeding swiftly by, Looks out across the night, and sees the stars, Never so bright as now — and he must die; So do I now, in lamentation cry — I am spent now, and totter on my feet, Bearing my cross in hidden agony, I know it all, the bitter and the sweet ! In this wise, I would hasten where love strays, Over wan graves, kept green by memory, Fain would I linger in the secret ways That lead to madness, and to harlotry; The song, the wassail, and the lips that sigh Fall like dead echoes at my wean- feet, Leaving me here to suffer silently, I know it all, the bitter and the sweet ! Julien, sore stricken, fainting in his woe Casting his locks to every wind and tide, Saith "Gallilean thou hast conquered — " all must gc Even as these, — for what availeth pride ? We are all dust, and with the worms must bide; We fatten, and they feast upon our meat, Misfortune is a steed that all must ride, I know it all, the bitter and the sweet ! Life and Death. A MONG the dusty galleries of the past 4 My thoughts delight to wander aimlessly, Amid those scenes whose recollections last Till Time is merged into Eternity ! Companion of my dreams, sweet Memory, Mine be the lot to wed thee evermore, As one who loves the surges of the sea, Will dwell upon the billow-beaten shore. The bees of Hyblas knew no sweeter cell Than I, communing with departed shades, Whose spirits throng the meadows Asphodel, Or seek repose in the Elysian glades ; There warriors softly sheathe their stainless blades Deep in the hollow galleries of Dis, Where holy calms prevail, and naught degrades The soul immortalized by Death's cold kiss. What precious memories cluster round the tomb, (Who lives that mourns not for departed friends ?) Sweet as the flowers which o'er their ashes bloom Amid the tangled grass, which o'er them bends. The flowers perish and the wandering winds Their petals scatter in a roseate rain Like kind words wasted, yet their perfume lends An incense to the fire on friendship's fane. And often, at the waning of the day, Such wayward fancies o'er my senses steal, And, musing ou the debt all mortals pay, Beside a mossy-covered mound I kneel : What dreaded secret doth this grave conceal ? Where roams the guest, who left his mansion here To moulder in the dust, and placed a seal U Upon the lifeless lips, as if in fear? Ages ago the questioner of the Sphinx Asked what life was, but only asked in vain : The student at the fount of knowledge drinks While life is left, but needs must driuk again. IO With parched lips and bosom rent with pain He cries, lifting to Heaven his o'er burdened brow. Unanswered must his prayer for aye remain — The stars are still, the gods are silent now. Is life the flame which lingers in the lamp, Fadeless and fair, until, its oil consumed, The dews of death are gathered thick and damp Upon the brow, by destiny foredoomed To perish almost ere the bud has bloomed ; An atom, on the spokes of time revolved ; A figure, by the lightning flash illumed ; Born of the dust, and into dust dissolved ? Or doth the soul released from pain, and grief, Attain a state where birth and death are not ? Where, in Nirvana, blooms no lotus leaf, Where pain and passion are alike forgot, A clime where pallid poppy-blossoms blot The bitter memories of life's sunless shore, With life, though lifeless, sorrows enter not Where silence reigns, and peace is ever more ? The soul lives on, when wasted is life's breath ; The soul lives on, though all this earthly crust Is covered with the narrow cells of death ; The soul lives on, the body falls to dust. Who dares affirm his Maker's law unjust ? Who dreads this earthly habit to resign, Or fears with skeptic sophistry to trust The wisdom of a Providence divine. We worship life, and see our brothers die, Yet think not of our destined end, in sooth Men only seek their joys to multiply, While time glides on with avaricious tooth ; And driving from our hearts the voice of truth, Sweet passion steals the sunny south wind's breath, And strews red roses in the lap of youth, While love lays laurels at the feet of death. But why should I in silent sadness mourn ? I, too, have long desired to lie among The multitude who rest in graves forlorn And hear above my head the requiem sung. I, melancholy, bitterly have flung My grief on every wind with me to weep, Aweary of the world when life was young, Nor dreamed of peace, save in a deathly sleep. My soul sits silent, waiting for the day, Beside the gloomy banks where dark Styx flows, When o'er the waters comes the boatman gray And bears me to Eternity's repose. Who shall be summoned first to cross ? Who know: Save He who is the warder of the skies, Clothed in the sunshine that forever glows And sparkles on the gates of Paradise ? "Whispering Murmurs of Death." (after whitman.) \ X 7HISPERING murmurs of heavenly death * I hear in the voices of night : The unseen choristers mystical breath Perfuming the star-haunted night ; The light of a star-haunted night ! Footsteps ascending with sweet music shod And singing of rivers I hear, Forever flowing, all knowing to God ; Or is it the plash of a tear ? The measurless depth of a tear? And at times, a star saddened and pale Flits out on the desolate sky Like the lily-white light of the Grail: Was it music it rained, or a sigh ? A tear from the All-seeing eye. ENVOY. Who is it gives birth to the stars Our eyes may not penetrate, where On the frontiers of space, gleams a face, And a soul is absorbed into air, And a heart is left empty and bare ! The Birth of the New Year. AT THE CRADLE. TX/IND and wet the wind with rain, Storm and sleet of dolorous snow, Mystical baptism of pain In the mad night's afterglow, Cometh to the sad Earth At the years glad birth ! Not with light and melody, Not with song or dance, Hushed is all the minstrelsie, Stilled the sweet romance, — In the grave of lost mirth, At the year's sad birth ! Only from a belfry shed Someone (mayhap for a fee,) Ringeth with a doleful tread Bells that jibe at misery: This is all that music hath For the year's first breath. Standing where mine eyes can see My old friend's sad funeral, Like a ghost that banished be Shrouded in a marriage pall ! In the cold wintering Comes the year's ushering, Standing where my heart can hear The mother's groan — the babe's cry; Love the famished breast doth tear, Barren is the fouutainrie: Cold the mother's dead face, In the year's embrace ! Standing where my hands can feel Want, and shame, and sin's glee, Fire, and flame, and clash of steel — h 13 Man ! where is thy charity ? Peace ! let no one's lips chide In the year's child-tide. Between old time and the new Hell, her portals open wide, Where to all the world's view, Truth is hanging crucified ? God ! extend Thy arm's wrath Ruin marks the year's path. Drink again the wine distilled In the heat of Man's hate, Crowd the banquet, ever filled Where the Prince of Hell sate ; Proudly, too, as chief guest At the year's first feast. By the grave where Truth doth lie Watch two Angels sweet, I