Tag: John Kendrick Bangs

  • The Prisoner

    From The Washington Herald, April 20, 1914. By John Kendrick Bangs.

    I keep a special cell for pain
    Here in my brain
    And there,
    Dark days or fair,
    I let it lie forgotten and alone
    To feed on its own moan;
    And then, when all its power to sting is gone,
    I open the door of memory again
    And let it pass along the road
    To some less chill abode;
    And strange to say,
    Sometimes when poor old pain has gone away,
    I find, long after his retreat,
    The later memory of him is sweet,
    And in my soul a greater strength appears
    For that I once in days that were
    Held Pain a Prisoner.

  • The Nearest Friend

    From the Omaha Daily Bee, March 15, 1914. By John Kendrick Bangs.

    A man I know, and yet know not at all,
    Is one who ever stands at beck and call.
    Responsive always to my slightest whim,
    No matter what the task I set for him.
    My friend he would be, yet most truly he
    Of all my foes is my worst enemy—
    A riddle past all solving—loving, warm,
    Yet daily in some way he doeth harm.

    Control him? I have tried with some success,
    Yet often he eludes me, and distress
    Incalculable follows in his train,
    And leaves me face to face with bitter pain.
    His thoughts I know, and yet within his soul
    He carries as it were a mystic scroll
    That, try how hard I may to penetrate
    Its meaning clear, I never can translate.

    Why this good deed he does, or that of ill,
    The deeds that dull all hope, or haply thrill
    My heart and soul, I cannot comprehend—
    My enemy today; tomorrow friend!
    With joy and shame, alternately, through life
    He’s filled my days with happiness and strife;
    My love and hatred form his worldly pelf,
    This man I know, yet know him not!—Myself!

  • The Better Way

    From The Washington Herald, February 26, 1914. By John Kendrick Bangs.

    I had a phrase in mind today
        So sharp I really can’t convey it.
    I laughed and laughed for hours away
        To think how sorely ‘twould dismay
    My foe, and then I’m glad to say
        Decided that I wouldn’t say it!

  • Head and Heart

    From The Washington Herald, December 19, 1913. By John Kendrick Bangs.

    When Heart says “Do,” and Head says “Don’t,”
    And Bill’s inclined to say “I won’t!”
    It may be wrong to follow Heart
    And from the paths of Head depart,
    But all the same I’ve heard much song
    On roads wise Head hath branded wrong,
    And sooner found the light that’s true
    On byways Heart hath brought to view!

  • As to Pining

    From The Washington Herald, November 14, 1913. By John Kendrick Bangs.

    The English tongue sometimes, I fear
    Would strike a man from Mars as queer.
    For instance, when some people say,
    “’Tis sad to see one pine away,”
    They do not know the kind of pine
    That gladdens so this soul of mine.
    When I observe it front the ill
    Of winter with its bitter chill,
    Its green persistent in the face
    Of every blast that comes from space;
    Its head held high against the sky
    Whatever tempest passes by;
    And ‘mid the blizzards as serene
    As in the summer, soft and green.
    It simply pines, and pines away,
    And gathers strength day after day;
    And stands erect whatever may be
    And takes what comes unflinchingly.
    How wondrous fine ‘twould be, I say,
    If folks would only “pine” that way!