Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE OLD CHIMNEYPIECE, by HEINRICH HEINE Poet's Biography First Line: Outside fall the snowflakes lightly Last Line: And the kitten's burnt, alas! Subject(s): Chimney Sweepers & Chimneys; Dreams; Fire; Nightmares | ||||||||
OUTSIDE fall the snowflakes lightly Through the night, loud raves the storm In my room the fire glows brightly, And 'tis cosy, silent, warm. Musing sit I on the settle By the firelight's cheerful blaze, Listening to the busy kettle Humming long-forgotten lays. And beside me sits a kitten, Warming at the blaze her feet; Strangely are my senses smitten As the flickering flames they meet. Many a dim long-buried story O'er me soon begins to rise, But with dead and faded glory, And in strange and mask'd disguise Lovely women with shrewd faces Greet me with a secret smile, Then the harlequins run races, Laughing merrily the while. Distant marble-gods nod kindly, Dreamily beside them grow Fable-flow'rs, whose leaves wave blindly In the moonlight to and fro. Magic castles, once resplendent, Ruin'd now, in sight appear; Knights in armour, squires attendant Quickly follow in their rear. All these visions I discover As with shadowy haste they pass, -- Ah, the kettle's boiling over, And the kitten's burnt, alas! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VARIATIONS: 14 by CONRAD AIKEN VARIATIONS: 18 by CONRAD AIKEN LIVE IT THROUGH by DAVID IGNATOW A DREAM OF GAMES by JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN THE DREAM OF WAKING by RANDALL JARRELL APOLOGY FOR BAD DREAMS by ROBINSON JEFFERS GIVE YOUR WISH LIGHT by ROBINSON JEFFERS |
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