Stevie Smith Poems

I like to get off with people,
I like to lie in their arms
I like to be held and lightly kissed,
Safe from all alarms.
...

Why is the word pretty so underrated?
In November the leaf is pretty when it falls.
The stream grows deep in the woods after rain.
And in the pretty pool the pike stalks.
...

Do not despair of man, and do not scold him,
Who are you that you should so lightly hold him?
Are you not also a man, and in your heart
...

The shadow was so black,
I thought it was a cat,
But once in to it
I knew it
...

My heart goes out to my Creator in love
Who gave me Death, as end and remedy.
All living creatures come to quiet Death
For him to eat up their activity
...

Christ died for God and me
Upon the crucifixion tree
For God a spoken Word
For me a Sword
...

Sisely
Walked so nicely
With footsteps so discreet
To see her pass
...

Our Bog is dood, our Bog is dood,
They lisped in accents mild,
But when I asked them to explain
They grew a little wild.
...

I always remember your beautiful flowers
And the beautiful kimono you wore
When you sat on the couch
With that tigerish crouch
...