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Robert Louis Stevenson: Collected Poems

Edited, with an introduction and notes, by Janet Adam Smith
Stevenson, Robert Louis (1850-1894)

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POEMS 1869–1879
 I. 
I Dedication
 II. 
II
 III. 
III After Reading ‘Antony and Cleopatra’
 IV. 
IV Spring-Song
 V. 
V
 VI. 
VI Duddingston
 VII. 
VII
 VIII. 
VIII
 IX. 
IX
 X. 
X
 XI. 
XI Death
 XII. 
XII
 XIII. 
XIII Epistle to Charles Baxter
 XIV. 
XIV Consolation
 XV. 
XV To Sydney
 XVI. 
XVI
 XVII. 
XVII
 XVIII. 
XVIII
 XIX. 
XIX
 XX. 
XX
 XXI. 
XXI
 XXII. 
XXII
collapse sectionXXIII. 
XXIII The Light-Keeper
 I. 
I
 II. 
II
 XXIV. 
XXIV
 XXV. 
XXV The Cruel Mistress
 XXVI. 
XXVI Storm
 XXVII. 
XXVII Stormy Nights
 XXVIII. 
XXVIII Song at Dawn
 XXIX. 
XXIX Nous n'irons plus aux bois
 XXX. 
XXX
 XXXI. 
XXXI
 XXXII. 
XXXII
 XXXIII. 
XXXIII
 XXXIV. 
XXXIV
 XXXV. 
XXXV
 XXXVI. 
XXXVI
 XXXVII. 
XXXVII
 XXXVIII. 
XXXVIII The Daughter of Herodias
 XXXIX. 
XXXIX
 XL. 
XL Praise and Prayer
 XLI. 
XLI John Cavalier
 XLII. 
XLII The Iron Steed
 XLIII. 
XLIII
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PIECES IN LALLAN
 I. 
I To The Commissioners of Northern Lights, with a Paper
 II. 
II To Mesdames Zassetsky and Garschine
 III. 
III To Charles Baxter
 IV. 
IV To the Same [Charles Baxter]
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UNDERWOODS
collapse sectionI. 
BOOK I: IN ENGLISH
 I. 
I Envoy
 II. 
II A Song of the Road
 III. 
III The Canoe Speaks
 IV. 
IV
 V. 
V The House Beautiful
 VI. 
VI A Visit from the Sea
 VII. 
VII To a Gardener
 VIII. 
VIII To Minnie
 IX. 
IX To K. de M.
 X. 
X To N. V. de G. S.
 XI. 
XI To Will H. Low
 XII. 
XII To Mrs Will H. Low
 XIII. 
XIII To H. F. Brown
 XIV. 
XIV To Andrew Lang
 XV. 
XV Et Tu in Arcadia Vixisti
 XVI. 
XVI To W. E. Henley
 XVII. 
XVII Henry James
 XVIII. 
XVIII The Mirror Speaks
 XIX. 
XIX Katharine
 XX. 
XX To F. J. S.
 XXI. 
XXI Requiem
 XXII. 
XXII The Celestial Surgeon
 XXIII. 
XXIII Our Lady of the Snows
 XXIV. 
XXIV
 XXV. 
XXV
 XXVI. 
XXVI The Sick Child
 XXVII. 
XXVII In Memoriam F. A. S.
 XXVIII. 
XXVIII To My Father
 XXIX. 
XXIX In the States
 XXX. 
XXX A Portrait
 XXXI. 
XXXI
 XXXII. 
XXXII A Camp
 XXXIII. 
XXXIII The Country of the Camisards
 XXXIV. 
XXXIV Skerryvore
 XXXV. 
XXXV Skerryvore: The Parallel
 XXXVI. 
XXXVI
 XXXVII. 
XXXVII
 XXXVIII. 
XXXVIII
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BOOK II: IN SCOTS
 I. 
I The Maker to Posterity
 II. 
II Ille Terrarum
 III. 
III
 IV. 
IV A Mile an' a Bittock
 V. 
V A Lowden Sabbath Morn
 VI. 
VI The Spaewife
 VII. 
VII The Blast—1875
 VIII. 
VIII The Counterblast—1886
 IX. 
IX The Counterblast Ironical
 X. 
X Their Laureate to an Academy Class Dinner Club
 XI. 
XI Embro Hie Kirk
 XII. 
XII The Scotsman's Return from Abroad
 XIII. 
XIII
 XIV. 
XIV My Conscience!
 XV. 
XV To Doctor John Brown
 XVI. 
XVI
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BALLADS
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The Song of Rahéro
 I. 
I. THE SLAYING OF TÁMATÉA
 II. 
II. THE VENGING OF TÁMATÉA
 III. 
III. RAHÉRO
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The Feast of Famine
 I. 
I. THE PRIEST'S VIGIL
 II. 
II. THE LOVERS
 III. 
III. THE FEAST
 IV. 
IV. THE RAID
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Ticonderoga
  
[prologue]
 I. 
I. THE SAYING OF THE NAME
 II. 
II. THE SEEKING OF THE NAME
 III. 
III. THE PLACE OF THE NAME
  
Heather Ale
  
Christmas at Sea
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SONGS OF TRAVEL
 I. 
I The Vagabond
 II. 
II Youth and Love—I
 III. 
III Youth and Love—II
 IV. 
IV
 V. 
V
 VI. 
VI
 VII. 
VII Madrigal
 VIII. 
VIII
 IX. 
IX
 X. 
X
 XI. 
XI
 XII. 
XII We Have Loved of Yore
 XIII. 
XIII Ditty
 XIV. 
XIV Mater Triumphans
 XV. 
XV
 XVI. 
XVI
 XVII. 
XVII To the Tune of Wandering Willie
 XVIII. 
XVIII Winter
 XIX. 
XIX
 XX. 
XX To Dr Hake
 XXI. 
XXI To Sidney Colvin
 XXII. 
XXII
 XXIII. 
XXIII
 XXIV. 
XXIV
 XXV. 
XXV
 XXVI. 
XXVI If This Were Faith
 XXVII. 
XXVII My Wife
 XXVIII. 
XXVIII To the Muse
 XXIX. 
XXIX To an Island Princess
 XXX. 
XXX To Kalakaua
 XXXI. 
XXXI To Princess Kaiulani
 XXXII. 
XXXII To Mother Maryanne
 XXXIII. 
XXXIII In Memoriam E. H.
 XXXIV. 
XXXIV To My Wife
 XXXV. 
XXXV To My Old Familiars
 XXXVI. 
XXXVI
 XXXVII. 
XXXVII To S. C.
collapse sectionXXXVIII. 
XXXVIII The House of Tembinoka
  
ENVOI
  
THE SONG
 XXXIX. 
XXXIX The Woodman
 XL. 
XL Tropic Rain
 XLI. 
XLI An End of Travel
 XLII. 
XLII
 XLIII. 
XLIII The Last Sight
 XLIV. 
XLIV
 XLV. 
XLV To S. R. Crockett
 XLVI. 
XLVI Evensong
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POEMS 1880–1894
 I. 
I Alcaics to H. F. Brown
 II. 
II Tales of Arabia
 III. 
III
 IV. 
IV
 V. 
V Horace, Book II, Ode III
 VI. 
VI Lines for H. F. Brown
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VII Translations from Martial
  
EPITAPHIUM EROTII
  
V. 34
  
DE EROTIO PUELLA
  
IN MAXIMUM
  
DE CŒNATIONE MICÆ
  
AD OLUM
  
AD QUINTILIANUM
  
AD PISCATOREM
  
DE HORTIS JULII MARTIALIS
  
AD MARTIALEM
  
AN IMITATION, PINDARIS CAUSA
  
AD NEPOTEM
  
DE M. ANTONIO
  
IN LUPUM
  
IN CHARIDEMUM
  
DE LIGURRA
 VIII. 
VIII
 IX. 
IX To Mrs MacMorland
 X. 
X
 XI. 
XI
 XII. 
XII
 XIII. 
XIII
 XIV. 
XIV
 XV. 
XV
 XVI. 
XVI
 XVII. 
XVII
 XVIII. 
XVIII To Mrs E. F. Strickland
 XIX. 
XIX For Richmond's Garden Wall
 XX. 
XX To Frederick Locker
 XXI. 
XXI To Master Andrew Lang
 XXII. 
XXII
 XXIII. 
XXIII The Family
 XXIV. 
XXIV
 XXV. 
XXV To the Stormy Petrel
 XXVI. 
XXVI
 XXVII. 
XXVII
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DEDICATIONS AND POEMS FROM BOOKS
 I. 
I To the Hesitating Purchaser
 II. 
II Pirate Ditty
 III. 
III The Song of the Sword of Alan
 IV. 
IV To Virgil and Dora Williams
 V. 
V To Nelly Sanchez
 VI. 
VI To H. C. Bunner
 VII. 
VII To Katharine de Mattos
 VIII. 
VIII To My Wife
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LIGHT VERSE
 I. 
I
 II. 
II
 III. 
III To Charles Baxter
 IV. 
IV Ne Sit Ancillae Tibi Amor Pudori
 V. 
V Poem for a Class Re-union
 VI. 
VI Browning
 VII. 
VII On an Inland Voyage
 VIII. 
VIII Dedication
 IX. 
IX On Some Ghostly Companions at A Spa
 X. 
X Brasheanna
 XI. 
XI To A. G. Dew-Smith
 XII. 
XII
 XIII. 
XIII
 XIV. 
XIV
 XV. 
XV
 XVI. 
XVI To Time
 XVII. 
XVII Fragment
 XVIII. 
XVIII Burlesque Sonnet To Æneas William Mackintosh
 XIX. 
XIX Rhymes to Henley
 XX. 
XX Epitaphs
 XXI. 
XXI The Fine Pacific Islands
collapse sectionXXII. 
XXII To Henry James
  
[section]
  
Eructavit cor meum
 XXIII. 
XXIII Athole Brose
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POEMS FOR CHILDREN
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A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES
  
TO ALISON CUNNINGHAM
 I. 
I Bed in Summer
 II. 
II A Thought
 III. 
III At the Seaside
 IV. 
IV Young Night Thought
 V. 
V Whole Duty of Children
 VI. 
VI Rain
 VII. 
VII Pirate Story
 VIII. 
VIII Foreign Lands
 IX. 
IX Windy Nights
 X. 
X Travel
 XI. 
XI Singing
 XII. 
XII Looking Forward
 XIII. 
XIII A Good Play
 XIV. 
XIV Where Go the Boats?
 XV. 
XV Auntie's Skirts
 XVI. 
XVI The Land of Counterpane
 XVII. 
XVII The Land of Nod
 XVIII. 
XVIII My Shadow
 XIX. 
XIX System
 XX. 
XX A Good Boy
 XXI. 
XXI Escape at Bedtime
 XXII. 
XXII Marching Song
 XXIII. 
XXIII The Cow
 XXIV. 
XXIV Happy Thought
 XXV. 
XXV The Wind
 XXVI. 
XXVI Keepsake Mill
 XXVII. 
XXVII Good and Bad Children
 XXVIII. 
XXVIII Foreign Children
 XXIX. 
XXIX The Sun's Travels
 XXX. 
XXX The Lamplighter
 XXXI. 
XXXI My Bed is a Boat
 XXXII. 
XXXII The Moon
 XXXIII. 
XXXIII The Swing
 XXXIV. 
XXXIV Time to Rise
 XXXV. 
XXXV Looking-Glass River
 XXXVI. 
XXXVI Fairy-Bread
 XXXVII. 
XXXVII From a Railway Carriage
 XXXVIII. 
XXXVIII Winter Time
 XXXIX. 
XXXIX The Hayloft
 XL. 
XL Farewell to the Farm
 XLI. 
XLI North-West Passage
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THE CHILD ALONE
 I. 
I The Unseen Playmate
 II. 
II My Ship and I
 III. 
III My Kingdom
 IV. 
IV Picture Books in Winter
 V. 
V My Treasures
 VI. 
VI Block City
 VII. 
VII The Land of Story-Books
 VIII. 
VIII Armies in the Fire
 IX. 
IX The Little Land
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GARDEN DAYS
 I. 
I Night and Day
 II. 
II Nest Eggs
 III. 
III The Flowers
 IV. 
IV Summer Sun
 V. 
V The Dumb Soldier
 VI. 
VI Autumn Fires
 VII. 
VII The Gardener
 VIII. 
VIII Historical Associations
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ENVOYS
 I. 
I To Willie and Henrietta
 II. 
II To My Mother
 III. 
III To Auntie
 IV. 
IV To Minnie
 V. 
V To My Name-Child
 VI. 
VI To Any Reader
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NOT I AND OTHER POEMS
 I. 
I Not I
 II. 
II
 III. 
III
 IV. 
IV
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MORAL EMBLEMS I
 I. 
I
 II. 
II
 III. 
III A Peak in Darien
 IV. 
IV
 V. 
V
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MORAL EMBLEMS II
 I. 
I
 II. 
II
 III. 
III
 IV. 
IV
 V. 
V
  
A MARTIAL ELEGY FOR SOME LEAD SOLDIERS
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THE GRAVER AND THE PEN:
  
Proem
  
The Precarious Mill
  
The Disputatious Pines
  
The Tramps
  
The Foolhardy Geographer
  
The Angler & the Clown
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MORAL TALES
 I. 
I Robin and Ben: or, the Pirate and the Apothecary
 II. 
II The Builder's Doom

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VIII
The Counterblast—1886

My bonny man, the warld, it's true,
Was made for neither me nor you;
It's just a place to warstle through,
As Job confessed o't;
And aye the best that we'll can do
Is mak the best o't.
159

There's rowth o' wrang, I'm free to say;
The simmer brunt, the winter blae,
The face of earth a' fyled wi' clay
An' dour wi' chuckies,
An' life a rough an' land'art play
For country buckies.
An' food's anither name for clart;
An' beasts an' brambles bite an' scart;
An' what would we be like, my heart!
If bared o' claethin'?
—A weel, I cannae mend your cart:
It's that or naethin'.
A feck o' folk frae first to last
Have through this queer experience passed;
Twa-three, I ken, just damn an' blast
The hale transaction;
But twa-three ithers, east an' wast,
Fand satisfaction.
Whaur braid the briery muirs expand,
A waefü' an' a weary land,
A bumblebees, a gowden band,
Are blithely hingin';
An' there the canty wanderer fand
The laverock singin'.
Trout in the burn grow great as herr'n';
The simple sheep can find their fair'n';
The wind blaws clean about the cairn
Wi' caller air;
The muircock an' the barefit bairn
Are happy there.
160

Sic-like the howes o' life to some:
Green loans whaur they ne'er fash their thumb,
But mark the muckle winds that come,
Soopin' an' cool,
Or hear the powrin' burnie drum
In the shilfa's pool.
The evil wi' the guid they tak;
They ca' a gray thing gray, no black;
To a steigh brae, a stubborn back
Addressin' daily;
An' up the rude, unbieldy track
O' life, gang gaily.
What you would like's a palace ha',
Or Sinday parlour dink an' braw
Wi' a' things ordered in a raw
By denty leddies.
Weel, then, ye cannae hae't: that's a'
That to be said is.
An' since at life ye've taen the grue,
An' winnae blithely hirsle through,
Ye've fund the very thing to do—
That's to drink speerit;
An' shüne we'll hear the last o' you—
An' blithe to hear it!
The shoon ye coft, the life ye lead,
Ithers will heir when aince ye're deid;
They'll heir your tasteless bite o' breid,
An' find it sappy;
They'll to your dulefü' house succeed,
An' there be happy.
161

As whan a glum an' fractious wean
Has sat an' sullened by his lane
Till, wi' a rowstin' skelp, he's taen
An' shoo'd to bed—
The ither bairns a' fa' to play'n',
As gleg's a gled.
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