Nathaniel Parker Willis
Nathaniel Parker Willis Poems
The shadows lay along broadway,
’t was near the twilight-tide,
and slowly there a lady fair
was walking in her pride.
...
On the cross-beam under the old south bell
the nest of a pigeon is builded well.
In summer and winter that bird is there,
...
There’s something in a noble boy,
a brave, free-hearted, careless one,
with his unchecked, unbidden joy,
...
When the rose is brightest,
its bloom will soonest die;
when burns the meteor brightest,
’t will vanish from the sky.
...
Nay, lady, one frown is enough
in a life as soon over as this—
and though minutes seem long in a huff,
they’re minutes ’tis pity to miss!
...
’Twas late, and the gay company was gone,
and the light lay soft on the deserted room
from alabaster vases, and a scent
...
’Tis seldom that “coolness” entices,
and love is no better for chilling—
but come up to Thompson's for ices,
...
Fleetly hath passed the year. The seasons came
duly as they are wont—the gentle spring,
and the delicious summer, and the cool,
...
I was in Greece. It was the hour of noon,
and the ægean wind had dropped asleep
upon hymettus, and the thymy isles
of salamis and ægina lay hung
...
They may talk of love in a cottage
and bowers of trellised vine—
of nature bewitchingly simple,
and milkmaids half divine;
...
There stood an unsold captive in the mart,
a gray-haired and majestical old man,
chained to a pillar. It was almost night,
...
Nathaniel Parker Willis Biography
Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis, was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He became the highest-paid magazine writer of his day. For a time, he was the employer of former slave and future writer Harriet Jacobs. His brother was the composer Richard Storrs Willis and his sister wrote under the name Fanny Fern. Born in Portland, Maine, Willis came from a family of publishers. His grandfather owned newspapers in Massachusetts and Virginia, and his father was the founder of Youth's Companion, the first newspaper specifically for children. Willis developed an interest in literature while attending Yale College and began publishing poetry. After graduation, he worked as an overseas correspondent for the New York Mirror. He eventually moved to New York and began to build his literary reputation. Working with multiple publications, he was earning about US$100 per article and between $5,000 and $10,000 per year. In 1846, he started his own publication, the Home Journal, which was eventually renamed Town & Country. Shortly after, Willis moved to a home on the Hudson River where he lived a semi-retired life until his death in 1867. Willis embedded his own personality into his writing and addressed his readers personally, specifically in his travel writings, so that his reputation was built in part because of his character. Critics, including his sister in her novel Ruth Hall, occasionally described him as being effeminate and Europeanized. Willis also published several poems, tales, and a play. Despite his intense popularity for a time, at his death Willis was nearly forgotten.)
The Best Poem Of Nathaniel Parker Willis
Unseen Spirits
The shadows lay along broadway,
’t was near the twilight-tide,
and slowly there a lady fair
was walking in her pride.
Alone walked she; but, viewlessly,
walked spirits at her side.
Peace charmed the street beneath her feet,
and honour charmed the air;
and all astir looked kind on her,
and called her good as fair,
for all god ever gave to her
she kept with chary care.
She kept with care her beauties rare
from lovers warm and true,
for her heart was cold to all but gold,
and the rich came not to woo—
but honoured well are charms to sell
if priests the selling do.
Now walking there was one more fair—
a slight girl, lily-pale;
and she had unseen company
to make the spirit quail:
’twixt want and scorn she walked forlorn,
and nothing could avail.
No mercy now can clear her brow
for this world’s peace to pray;
for, as love’s wild prayer dissolved in air,
her woman’s heart gave way!—
But the sin forgiven by Christ in heaven
by man is cursed alway!
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