Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO MARK TWAIN, by HENRY VAN DYKE Poet's Biography First Line: With memories old and wishes new Last Line: True wisdom comes with laughter and with tears. Alternate Author Name(s): Civis Americanus Subject(s): Birthdays; Twain, Mark (samuel Langhorne Clemens) | ||||||||
I WITH memories old and wishes new We crown our cups again, And here's to you, and here's to you With love that ne'er shall wane! And may you keep, at sixty-seven, The joy of earth, the hope of heaven, And fame well-earned, and friendship true, And peace that comforts every pain, And faith that fights the battle through, And all your heart's unbounded wealth, And all your wit, and all your health, -- Yes, here's a hearty health to you, And here's to you, and here's to you, Long life to you, Mark Twain. II We knew you well, dear Yorick of the West, The very soul of large and friendly jest! You loved and mocked the broad grotesque of things In this new world where all the folk are kings. Your breezy humour cleared the air, with sport Of shams that haunt the democratic court; For even where the sovereign people rule, A human monarch needs a royal fool. Your native drawl lent flavour to your wit; Your arrows lingered but they always hit; Homeric mirth around the circle ran, But left no wound upon the heart of man. We knew you kind in trouble, brave in pain; We saw your honour kept without a stain; We read this lesson of our Yorick's years, -- True wisdom comes with laughter and with tears. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LAST LAUGH by ROBERT PENN WARREN WELCOME TO MARK TWAIN by LOUIS FRECHETTE MARK TWAIN: A PIPE DREAM by OLIVER BROOK HERFORD A DOUBLE-BARRELLED SONNET TO MARK TWAIN: 1. FIRST BARREL by WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS A DOUBLE-BARRELLED SONNET TO MARK TWAIN: 2. SECOND BARREL by WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS THE AMERICAN JOKE (READ AT THE BIRTHDAY DINNER TO S.L. CLEMENS) by WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS MARK TWAIN AND JOAN OF ARC by NICHOLAS VACHEL LINDSAY WHEN THE MISSISSIPPI FLOWED IN INDIANA by NICHOLAS VACHEL LINDSAY AUTHORS' RESIDENCES by JOHN UPDIKE LITTLE BOATIE'; A SLUMBER SONG FOR THE FISHERMAN'S CHILD by HENRY VAN DYKE |
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