Classic and Contemporary Poetry
PAN, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: This pan is but an idle god, I guess Last Line: Whether to fan his wings or fly without. Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F. Subject(s): Brooks; Fantasy; Forests; Mythology - Classical; Pan (mythology); Streams; Creeks; Woods | ||||||||
THIS Pan is but an idle god, I guess, Since all the fair midsummer of my dreams He loiters listlessly by woody streams, Soaking the lush glooms up with laziness; Or drowsing while the maiden-winds caress Him prankishly, and powder him with gleams Of sifted sunshine. And he ever seems Drugged with a joy unutterable -- unless His low pipes whistle hints of it far out Across the ripples to the dragon-fly That, like a wind-born blossom blown about, Drops quiveringly down, as though to die -- Then lifts and wavers on, as if in doubt Whether to fan his wings or fly without. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PRINCESS WAKES IN THE WOOD by RANDALL JARRELL CHAMBER MUSIC: 20 by JAMES JOYCE ADVICE TO A FOREST by MAXWELL BODENHEIM A SOUTH CAROLINA FOREST by AMY LOWELL JOY IN THE WOODS by CLAUDE MCKAY IN BLACKWATER WOODS by MARY OLIVER THE PLACE I WANT TO GET BACK TO by MARY OLIVER A BOY'S MOTHER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY |
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