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Today, on July 25th, 2008, the site contains 193 poets, 8,680 poems and 4,539 comments.
A.E. Housman - The Chestnut Casts His Flambeaux

The chestnut casts his flambeaux, and the flowers 
Stream from the hawthorn on the wind away, 
The doors clap to, the pane is blind with showers. 
Pass me the can, lad; there's an end of May. 

There's one spoilt spring to scant our mortal lot, 
One season ruined of your little store. 
May will be fine next year as like as not: 
But ay, but then we shall be twenty-four. 

We for a certainty are not the first 
Have sat in taverns while the tempest hurled 
Their hopeful plans to emptiness, and cursed 
Whatever brute and blackguard made the world. 

It is in truth iniquity on high 
To cheat our sentenced souls of aught they crave, 
And mar the merriment as you and I 
Fare on our long fool's-errand to the grave. 

Iniquity it is; but pass the can. 
My lad, no pair of kings our mothers bore; 
Our only portion is the estate of man: 
We want the moon, but we shall get no more. 

If here to-day the cloud of thunder lours 
To-morrow it will hie on far behests; 
The flesh will grieve on other bones than ours 
Soon, and the soul will mourn in other breasts. 

The troubles of our proud and angry dust 
Are from eternity, and shall not fail. 
Bear them we can, and if we can we must. 
Shoulder the sky, my lad, and drink your ale. 

Added: on April 21st, 2006 at 7:46 AM | Viewed: 1256 times | Comments (2)


The Chestnut Casts His Flambeaux - Comments and Information

Poet: A.E. Housman
Poem: The Chestnut Casts His Flambeaux

Comment 2 of 2, added on February 14th, 2007 at 9:17 PM.

Watch subject. Bush is forever saying that democracies do not invade other countries and start wars. Well, he did just that. He invaded Iraq, started a war, and killed people. What do you think? What is he doing to us, and what is he doing to the world?
What happened to us, people? When did we become such lemmings?
The more people that the government puts in jails, the safer we are told to think we are. The real terrorists are wherever they are, but they aren't living in a country with bars on the windows. We are.

Antibush from United States
Comment 1 of 2, added on April 21st, 2006 at 7:46 AM.

A.E.Housman is an example of an excellent bad poet. His choice of language is striking, sometimes memorable. But the overall tone of the poems is embarrassingly mawkish.

David Butler from United Kingdom

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