“Holy Sonnet 10: Death, be not proud” by John Donne (1609) Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1820) I O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each like a corpse within its grave, until Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill (Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With living hues and odours plain and hill: Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear! II Thou on whose stream, mid the steep sky's commotion, Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed, Shook from the tangled boughs of Heaven and Ocean, Angels of rain and lightning: there are spread On the blue surface of thine aëry surge, Like the bright hair uplifted from the head Of some fierce Maenad, even from the dim verge Of the horizon to the zenith's height, The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge Of the dying year, to which this closing night Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre, Vaulted with all thy congregated might Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere Black rain, and fire, and hail will burst: oh hear! III Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams The blue Mediterranean, where he lay, Lull'd by the coil of his crystalline streams, Beside a pumice isle in Baiae's bay, And saw in sleep old palaces and towers Quivering within the wave's intenser day, All overgrown with azure moss and flowers So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou For whose path the Atlantic's level powers Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear The sapless foliage of the ocean, know Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear, And tremble and despoil themselves: oh hear! IV If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear; If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee; A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share The impulse of thy strength, only less free Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even I were as in my boyhood, and could be The impulse of thy strength, only less free Than thou, O uncontrollable! If even I were as in my boyhood, and could be As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need. Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud! I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed! A heavy weight of hours has chain'd and bow'd One too like thee: tameless, and swift, and proud. V Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is: What if my leaves are falling like its own! The tumult of thy mighty harmonies Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone, Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce, My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one! Drive my dead thoughts over the universe Like wither'd leaves to quicken a new birth! And, by the incantation of this verse, Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind! Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost (1920) Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Trees" by Joyce Kilmer (1913) I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be" by John Keats (1848) When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain, Before high-pilèd books, in charactery, Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain; When I behold, upon the night’s starred face, Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance, And think that I may never live to trace Their shadows with the magic hand of chance; And when I feel, fair creature of an hour, That I shall never look upon thee more, Never have relish in the faery power Of unreflecting love—then on the shore Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allan Poe (1849) Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now, Thus much let me avow — You are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream. I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand — How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep — while I weep! O God! Can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave? Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream? Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Sonnet 29: When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes" by William Shakespeare (1609) When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featured like him, like him with friends possessed, Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope, With what I most enjoy contented least; Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, Haply I think on thee, and then my state, (Like to the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate; For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"The House by the Side of the Road" by Sam Walter Foss (1897) There are hermit souls that live withdrawn In the peace of their self-content; There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart, In a fellowless firmament; There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths Where highways never ran;— But let me live by the side of the road And be a friend to man. Let me live in a house by the side of the road, Where the race of men go by— The men who are good and the men who are bad, As good and as bad as I. I would not sit in the scorner’s seat, Or hurl the cynic’s ban;— Let me live in a house by the side of the road And be a friend to man. I see from my house by the side of the road, By the side of the highway of life, The men who press with the ardor of hope, The men who are faint with the strife. But I turn not away from their smiles nor their tears— Both parts of an infinite plan;— Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man. I know there are brook-gladdened meadows ahead And mountains of wearisome height; That the road passes on through the long afternoon And stretches away to the night. But still I rejoice when the travelers rejoice, And weep with the strangers that moan, Nor live in my house by the side of the road Like a man who dwells alone. Let me live in my house by the side of the road Where the race of men go by— They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong, Wise, foolish— so am I. Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat Or hurl the cynic’s ban?— Let me live in my house by the side of the road And be a friend to man. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Jerusalem" by William Blake (1808) And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon Englands mountains green: And was the holy Lamb of God, On Englands pleasant pastures seen! And did the Countenance Divine, Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here, Among these dark Satanic Mills? Bring me my Bow of burning gold: Bring me my arrows of desire: Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold! Bring me my Chariot of fire! I will not cease from Mental Fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand: Till we have built Jerusalem, In Englands green & pleasant Land. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1854 Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!” he said. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade!” Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew Someone had blundered. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of hell Rode the six hundred. Flashed all their sabres bare, Flashed as they turned in air Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while All the world wondered. Plunged in the battery-smoke Right through the line they broke; Cossack and Russian Reeled from the sabre stroke Shattered and sundered. Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell. They that had fought so well Came through the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of hell, All that was left of them, Left of six hundred. When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wondered. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred! Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1895 We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask! Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Frogs" by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts, 1888 Here in the red heart of the sunset lying, My rest an islet of brown weeds blown dry, I watch the wide bright heavens, hovering nigh, My plain and pools in lucent splendour dyeing. My view dreams over the rosy wastes, descrying The reed-tops fret the solitary sky; And all the air is tremulous to the cry Of myriad frogs on mellow pipes replying. For the unrest of passion here is peace, And eve's cool drench for midday soil and taint. To tired ears how sweetly brings release This limpid babble from life's unstilled complaint; While under tired eyelids lapse and faint The noon's derisive visions—fade and cease. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Old Ironsides" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., 1830 Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! Long has it waved on high, And many an eye has danced to see That banner in the sky; Beneath it rung the battle shout, And burst the cannon’s roar;— The meteor of the ocean air Shall sweep the clouds no more! Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood Where knelt the vanquished foe, When winds were hurrying o’er the flood And waves were white below, No more shall feel the victor’s tread, Or know the conquered knee;— The harpies of the shore shall pluck The eagle of the sea! O, better that her shattered hulk Should sink beneath the wave; Her thunders shook the mighty deep, And there should be her grave; Nail to the mast her holy flag, Set every thread-bare sail, And give her to the god of storms,— The lightning and the gale! Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"The Good Old Ways" by Ellwood Roberts, 1895 Who has not been disgusted oft Because of senseless change; And rising indignation felt At fashions new and strange? How much unlike the customs old Are those of modern days! No wonder they sometimes complain, Who love the good old ways. The men and women years ago, Were happy in their way; They had their troubles, great and small, But not like ours to-day. They came and went as pleased themselves, And gave but little care To trifling matters such as vex And drive us to despair. Decrees of fashion in their day, Were held in light esteem; Just like their fathers did before, They floated down life's stream. They viewed with more respect than we The customs of the past; A race too slow were they, I own; May we not live too fast? Each generation, we are told, Is wiser than the last; We would not, if we could, recall The years forever past; Where'er we go, from day to day, We find improvements vast; And thankful we our lot on earth In such an age was cast. But much we see, around us here, That merits little praise; The simpler forms of speech are gone, The unaffected phrase. Mankind love change; they lightly hold Bequests of former days, Nor think how much of good they lose In leaving good old ways. Some live, 'tis said, before their time, And others much too late; Let not these last bewail the fact, Nor murmur at their fate; For still we will to them concede— These changeful modern days— That they must not be blamed because They love the good old ways. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Hope Is The Thing With Feathers" by Emily Dickinson, 1891 Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I 've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

"Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold, 1867 The sea is calm tonight. The tide is full, the moon lies fair Upon the straits; on the French coast the light Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand, Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay. Come to the window, sweet is the night-air! Only, from the long line of spray Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land, Listen! you hear the grating roar Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling, At their return, up the high strand, Begin, and cease, and then again begin, With tremulous cadence slow, and bring The eternal note of sadness in. Sophocles long ago Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow Of human misery; we Find also in the sound a thought, Hearing it by this distant northern sea. The Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating, to the breath Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear And naked shingles of the world. Ah, love, let us be true To one another! for the world, which seems To lie before us like a land of dreams, So various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; And we are here as on a darkling plain Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, Where ignorant armies clash by night. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

"Welcome Home" by Louella C. Poole I saw him coming up the street, So spent and weary that his feet Seemed like two heavy weights of lead; Ah, he had known so hard a day, Small wonder that he looked that way, And slouched along with drooping head! Then, suddenly, with frantic shout, A little yellow dog rushed out A yard, to greet the tired man; He licked his hands, he kissed his face, Then dashed ahead in eager race, Then back again he gaily ran! The tired worker laughed aloud, Straightened his shoulders; through the crowd Pressed on; his feet seemed to take wings So fast he walked as he went up The street toward home the yellow pup All joyous leaps and caperings. O little dog so fond and true, Much good in life you surely do When you can make a man so spent Forget fatigue — make him so glad He acts like any madcap lad, And laughs aloud with merriment! Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"She Walks in Beauty" by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1814) She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent! Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

"Abide with Me" by Henry Francis Lyte (1847) Abide with me! fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide! When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me. Come not in terrors, as the King of kings; But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings: Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea; Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me. I need Thy presence every passing hour: What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power? Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless: Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness: Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if Thou abide with me. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin * * * * Podcast, Books, Encyclopedia and MORE https://www.BenjaminTheDreamWizard.com

Nothing Gold Can Stay ~ by Robert Frost (1923) Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold, Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

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Pearl: Section I (Modern version) ~ BY ANONYMOUS (14th Century) Pearl, the precious prize of a king, Chastely set in cherished gold, In all the East none equalling, No peer to her could I behold. So round, so rare, a radiant thing, So smooth she was, so small of mold, Wherever I judged gems glimmering I set her apart, her price untold. Alas, I lost her in earth’s green fold; Through grass to the ground, I searched in vain. I languish alone; my heart grows cold For my precious pearl without a stain. 2 Since in that spot it slipped from me, I lingered, longing for that delight That from my sins once set me free And my happiness raised to the highest height. Her going wounds me grievously; It burns my breast both day and night. Yet I never imagined a melody So sweet as she, so brief, and slight. But memory flowed through my mind’s sight: I thought how her color in clods had lain O dust that dims what once was bright, My precious pearl without a stain. 3 Rare spices on that spot must spread: Such riches there to rot have run, Blooms of yellow and blue and red, Their sheen a shimmer against the sun, Flower and fruit nor faded nor dead, Where the pearl dropped down in mouldering dun; Each grass from a lifeless grain is bred, Else to harvest no wheat were won: Always from good is good begun. So seemly a seed could not die in vain, That sprig nor spice there would be none Of that precious pearl without a stain. 4 To the spot which I in speech portray, I entered in that arbor green, In August on a holy day, When the corn is cut with sickles keen. On the little rise where my pearl rolled away, The fairest flowers formed a screen: Gillyflower, ginger, gromwell spray, With peonies powdered in between. If they were seemly to be seen, Far sweeter the scents from that domain, More worthy her dwelling, well I ween, My precious pearl without a stain. 5 I mourned, hands clenched, before that mound, For the piercing cold of grief had caught Me in the doleful dread and bound My heart, though reason solace sought. I longed for my pearl, locked in the ground, While fierce contentions in me fought. In Christ, though comfort could be found, My wretched will was still distraught. I fell upon that flowery plot. Such odors eddied in my brain, To sudden slumber I was brought By that precious pearl without a stain. Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/

Thanks for listening! ~ Benjamin https://benjaminthedreamwizard.com/