This is the night mail crossing the Border, Bringing the cheque and the postal order, Letters for the rich, letters for the poor, The shop at the corner, the girl…

As I walked out one evening, Walking down Bristol Street, The crowds upon the pavement Were fields of harvest wheat. And down by the brimming river I heard a lover…

I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-Second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade: Waves of anger and fear Circulate over…

(From ‘Two Songs’) Ever since observation taught me temptation Is a matter of timing, I’ve tried To clothe my fiction in up-to-date diction, The contemporary jargon of Pride. I can…

(From ‘Twelve Songs’) XII Some say that love’s a little boy, And some say it’s a bird, Some say it makes the world go round, And some say that’s absurd,…

In an upper room at midnight See us gathered on behalf Of love according to the gospel Of the radio-phonograph. Lou is telling Anne what Molly Said to Mark behind…

Time will say nothing but I told you so, Time only knows the price we have to pay; If I could tell you I would let you know. If we…

(d. January 1939) I He disappeared in the dead of winter: The brooks were frozen, the airports almost deserted, And snow disfigured the public statues; The mercury sank in the…

When I have fears that I may cease to be Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain, Before high-pilèd books, in charactery, Hold like rich garners the full ripened…

Love set you going like a fat gold watch. The midwife slapped your footsoles, and your bald cry Took its place among the elements. Our voices echo, magnifying your arrival….

The Devil – had he fidelity Would be the best friend – Because he has ability – But Devils cannot mend – Perfidy is the virtue That would but he…