To Winter by William Blake

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend December 24, 2016   To Winter   William Blake

O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors: The north is thine; there hast thou built thy dark Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs Nor bend thy pillars with thine iron car.   He hears me not, but o'er the yawning deep Rides heavy; his storms are unchain'd, sheathed In ribbed steel; I dare not lift mine eyes; For he hath rear'd his scepter o'er the world.   Lo! now the direful monster, whose skin clings To his strong bones, strides o'er the groaning rocks: He withers all in silence, and in his hand Unclothes the earth, and freezes up frail life.   He takes his seat upon the cliffs, the mariner Cries in vain. Poor little wretch! that deal'st With storms; till heaven smiles, and the monster Is driven yelling to his caves beneath Mount Hecla.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   "To Winter" was published in Poetical Sketches (1783).   William Blake was born on November 28, 1757, in London. His collections include Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794). He died on August 12, 1827. Poetry by Blake   The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake (Anchor, 1982) "Paradise Lost, Book I, Lines 221-270" by John Milton "How like a winter hath my absence been (Sonnet 97)" by William Shakespeare "On Seeing a Tuft of Snowdrops in a Storm" by William Wordsworth Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038