Herman Melville

Poems » herman melville

Herman Melville
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His first two books gained much attention, though they were not bestsellers, and his popularity declined precipitously only a few years later. By the time of his death he had been almost completely forgotten, but his longest novel, Moby-Dick — largely considered a failure during his lifetime, and most responsible for Melville's fall from favor with the reading public — was rediscovered in the 20th century as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature.

the portent (1859)
Hanging from the beam,
Slowly swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on your green,... [read poem]
benjamin pantier
Together in this grave lie Benjamin Pantier, attorney at law,
And Nig, his dog, constant compan... [read poem]
mrs. benjamin pantier
I know that he told that I snared his soul
With a snare which bled him to death.
And all t... [read poem]
conrad siever
Not in that wasted garden
Where bodies are drawn into grass
That feeds no flocks, and into... [read poem]
sarah brown
Maurice, weep not, I am not here under this pine tree.
The balmy air of spring whispers through... [read poem]
margaret fuller slack
I would have been as great as George Eliot
But for an untoward fate.
For look at the photo... [read poem]
dora williams
When Reuben Pantier ran away and threw me
I went to Springfield. There I met a lush,
Whose... [read poem]
the circuit judge
Take note, passers-by, of the sharp erosions
Eaten in my head-stone by the wind and rain --... [read poem]
state's attorney fallas
I, the scourge-wielder, balance-wrecker,
Smiter with whips and swords;
I, hater of the bre... [read poem]
eugenia todd
Have any of you, passers-by,
Had an old tooth that was an unceasing discomfort?
Or a pain ... [read poem]
yee bow
They got me into the Sunday-school
In Spoon River
And tried to get me to drop Confucius fo... [read poem]
washington mcneely
Rich, honored by my fellow citizens,
The father of many children, born of a noble mother,
... [read poem]
the unknown
Ye aspiring ones, listen to the story of the unknown
Who lies here with no stone to mark the pl... [read poem]
widow mcfarlane
I was the Widow McFarlane,
Weaver of carpets for all the village.
And I pity you still at ... [read poem]
carl hamblin
The press of the Spoon River Clarion was wrecked,
And I was tarred and feathered,
F... [read poem]
mrs. kessler
Mr. Kessler, you know, was in the army,
And he drew six dollars a month as a pension,
And ... [read poem]
lambert hutchins
I have two monuments besides this granite obelisk:
One, the house I built on the hill,
Wit... [read poem]
seth compton
When I died, the circulating library
Which I built up for Spoon River,
And managed for the... [read poem]
lyman king
You may think, passer-by, that Fate
Is a pit-fall outside of yourself,
Around which you ma... [read poem]
anne rutledge
Out of me unworthy and unknown
The vibrations of deathless music:
"With malice toward none... [read poem]
rutherford mcdowell
They brought me ambrotypes
Of the old pioneers to enlarge.
And sometimes one sat for me --... [read poem]
lucinda matlock
I went to the dances at Chandlerville,
And played snap-out at Winchester.
One time we chan... [read poem]
davis matlock
Suppose it is nothing but the hive:
That there are drones and workers
And queens, and noth... [read poem]
the maldive shark
About the Shark, phlegmatical one,
Pale sot of the Maldive sea
The sleek little pilot-fish... [read poem]
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