Selected Poems

Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh in 1850. Stevenson is well known for his novels of historical adventure, including Treasure Island (1883), Kidnapped (1886) and Catriona (1893).

• Selected PoemsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsTable of DatesFurther ReadingUNCOLLECTED POEMS, TO 1885The Light-Keeper"The roadside lined with ragweed, the sharp hills"Spring-SongDuddingston"The whole day thro', in contempt and pity""I sit up here at midnight"DedicationEpistle to Charles BaxterTo Charles BaxterTo Sydney"O dull, cold northern sky"Ne Sit Ancillae Tibi Amor PudoriTo Ottilie"A little before me, and hark!"St. Martin's Summer"My brain swims empty and light"The Cruel MistressStormStormy NightsSong at Dawn"I am a hunchback, yellow faced -""Last night we had a thunderstorm in style"To Charles Baxter [in Lallan]To the Same (On the death of their common friend, Mr. John Adam...)"I saw red evening through the rain""I who all the winter through"John CavalierAlcaics to H. F. BrownLines for H. F. BrownTo Mrs. MacMorlandBrasheanna"Since years ago for evermore"Rhymes to W. E. Henley"Dear Henley, with a pig's snout on""My letters fail, I learn with grief, to please""We dwell in these melodious days"Tales of Arabia"Flower god, god of the spring, beautiful, bountiful""Now bare to the beholder's eye"Translations from MartialEpitaphium ErotiiDe M. AntonioDe LigguraMORAL EMBLEMS (1882)Moral Emblems II. "See how the children in the print"II. "Reader, your soul upraise to see"III. A Peak in DarienIV. "See in the print, how moved by whim"V. "Mark, printed on the opposing page"Moral Emblems III. "With storms a-weather, rocks a-lee"II. "The careful angler chose his nook"III. "The Abbot for a walk went out"IV. "The frozen peaks he once explored"V. "Industrious pirate! see him sweep"FROM MORAL TALES [1882]Robin and Ben: or, the Pirate and the ApothecaryA CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSESTo Alison CunninghamBed in SummerA ThoughtAt the SeasideYoung Night ThoughtWhole Duty of ChildrenRainPirate StoryForeign LandsWindy NightsTravelSingingLooking ForwardA Good PlayWhere Go the Boats?Auntie's SkirtsThe Land of CounterpaneThe Land of NodMy ShadowSystemA Good BoyEscape at BedtimeMarchng SongThe CowHappy ThoughtThe WindKeepsake MillGood and Bad ChildrenForeign ChildrenThe Sun's TravelsThe LamplighterMy Bed is a BoatThe MoonThe SwingTime to RiseLooking-Glass RiverFairy-BreadFrom a Railway CarriageWinter TimeThe HayloftFarewell to the FarmNorth-West PassageThe Child AloneThe Unseen PlaymateMy Ship and IMy KingdomPicture Books in WinterMy TreasuresBlock CityThe Land of Story-BooksArmies in the FireThe Little LandGarden DaysNight and DayNest EggsThe FlowersSummer SunThe Dumb SoldierAutumn FiresThe GardenerHistorical AssociationsEnvoysTo Willie and HenriettaTo My MotherTo AuntieTo MinnieTo My Name-ChildTo Any ReaderFROM UNDERWOODS (1887)Book OneI. EnvoyIII. The Canoe SpeaksV. The House BeautifulVI. To a GardenerIX. To K. de M.X. To N. V. de G. S.XII. To Mrs. Will H. LowXIII. To H. F. BrownXV. Et Tu in Arcadia VixistiXVI. To W. E. HenleyXVIII. The Mirror SpeaksXXI. RequiemXXVI. The Sick ChildXXX. A PortraitXXXV. Skerryvore: The ParallelXXXVIII. "My body which my dungeon is"Book Two - In ScotsI. The Maker to PosterityII. Ille TerrarumIII. "When aince Aprile has fairly come"IV. A Mile an' a BittockV. A Lowden Sabbath MornVI. The SpaewifeVII. The Blast - 1875VIII. The Counterblast - 1886IX. The Counterblast IronicalX. Their Laureate to an Academy Class Dinner ClubXI. Embro Hie KirkXII. The Scotsman's Return from AbroadXIII. "Late in the nicht in bed I lay"XIV. My Conscience!XV. To Doctor John BrownXVI. "It's an owercome sooth for age an' youth"FROM BALLADS (1890)The Song of RaheroTiconderogaHeather AleChristmas at SeaUNCOLLECTED POEMS, 1885-1894The Song of the Sword of AlanThe Bour-Tree DenTo Katharine de MattosThe Fine Pacific IslandsTo Henry JamesThe Family"As with heaped bees at hiving time""Fixed is the doom; and to the last of years"To My WifeFROM SONGS OF TRAVEL (1895)I. The VagabondII. Youth and LoveIV. "In dreams, unhappy, I behold you stand"V. "She rested by the Broken Brook"VI. "The infinite shining heavens"VIII. "To you, let snow and roses"IX. "Let Beauty awake in the morn from beautiful dreams"XI. "I will make you brooches and toys for your delight"XII. We Have Loved of YoreXIV. Mater TriumphansXV. "Bright is the ring of words"XVI. "In the highlands, in the country places"XVII. To the Tune of Wandering WillieXVIII. WinterXXI. To Sidney ColvinXXII. "The morning drum-call on my eager ear"XXIII. "I have trod the upward and the downward slope"XXVI. If This Were FaithXXVIII. To the MuseXXXV. To My Old FamiliarsXXXVI. "The tropics vanish, and meseems that I"XXXVII. To S. C.XXXIX. The WoodmanXL. Tropic RainXLIII. The Last SightXLIV. "Sing me a song of a lad that is gone"XLV. To S. R. CrockettXLVI. EvensongAppendix: Note on Scots Language, from UnderwoodsNotesGlossaryIndex of TitlesIndex of First Lines