Are one with all that in a moment dies, But I shall find the sullen rocks and skies THE PEAR TREE In this squalid, dirty dooryard, Mindful of the eyes upon it, WILD SWANS I looked in my heart while the wild swans went over;— And what did I see I had not seen before? Only a question less or a question more; Nothing to match the flight of wild birds flying. Tiresome heart, forever living and dying! House without air! I leave you and lock your door! Wild swans, come over the town, come over The town again, trailing your legs and crying! Mary Carolyn Davies was born at Sprague, Washington, and was educated in the schools at and about Portland, Oregon. At college (the University of California) she won the Emily Chamberlin Cook prize for Poetry in 1912, being the first freshman to win it. In the same year, she established another precedent by being the first woman to win the Bohemian Club prize. With the proceeds, the young poet went to New York, arriving with the remnants of her fortune-four dollars and eighty-five cents. The long struggle with the city began. Miss Davies wrote short stories, two serials, reams of sentimental verses-anything to keep alive. She turned finally to verse, chiefly because "when the rent is due there's no time to write a story, only verse can save one in time." Her work divides itself into two distinct classes: the hackwork which she does for a living and the genuine poetry which she creates for its own sake. Her first volume The Drums in Our Street (1918) was a mixture of loud bombast and quiet beauty, of blatant war-verse and unaffected lyrics. Youth Riding (1919), although as uneven as its predecessor, is simpler and surer. The poems in vers libre are clearly musical, and her eight-line lyrics are particularly wistful and delicate. THE DAY BEFORE APRIL1 The day before April, Alone, alone, I walked in the woods And I sat on a stone. 1 Reprinted by permission of the Publishers, The Macmillan Company. From Youth Riding by Mary Carolyn Davies. I sat on a broad stone THE APPLE TREE SAID:1 My apples are heavy upon me. And proud was I of my petals, Nor dreamed this thing: That joy could grow to a burden, Changed from snow-light to heavy Winifred Welles Winifred Welles was born at Norwich Town, Connecticut, January 26, 1893, and educated in the vicinity of her home. Her frail and delicately fashioned lyrics are the distinguishing feature of The Hesitant Heart (1920). This first volume, so appropriately named, has a frank tenderness that never grows maudlin, a wistful introspection that never forgets to sing. 1 Reprinted by permission of the publishers, The Macmillan Company. From Youth Riding by Mary Carolyn Davies. FROM A CHINESE VASE Roaming the lonely garden, he and I Pursue each other to the fountain's brim, My thoughts are rose-like, beautiful and bright, The waters tangle like a woman's hair How shall we know our real selves, he and I, HUMILIATION How nakedly an animal Lies down on earth to die, But men and women under roofs LOVE SONG FROM NEW ENGLAND In every solemn tree the wind Has rung a little lonesome bell, This is an hour that gods have loved Closely as some dark-shuttered house I keep my light. How should you know, Herbert S. Gorman Herbert S. Gorman was born at Springfield, Massachusetts, January 1, 1893. After attending Technical High School he became an actor for two seasons, deserting the stage for the newspaper. He became assistant literary and dramatic editor of the Springfield Union, reporter on the New York Sun and reviewer for the New York Post, The Freeman and other journals. His first book, The Fool of Love (1920), shows, above an indebtedness to E. A. Robinson, a keen talent and fresh personality. |