First linesGeorge MacDonald

A broken tale of endless things, To E. G., Dedicating a Book
A brown bird sang on a blossomy tree, A Song in the Night
A child was born in sin and shame, A Dream of Waking
A clock aeonian, steady and tall, The Clock of the Universe
A glory on the chamber wall! Songs of the Days and Nights
A little bird sat on the edge of her nest; The Early Bird
A pale green sky is gleaming; Picture Songs
A quiet heart, submissive, meek, Blessed Are the Meek, for They Shall Inherit the Earth
A tattered soldier, gone the glow and gloss, Home from the Wars
Ah, holy midnight of the soul, The Holy Midnight
Alas, ’tis cold and dark! The Tree’s Prayer
All sights and sounds of day and year, A Prayer for the Past
An unborn bird lies crumpled and curled, Hope and Patience
As Jesus went into Jericho town, Blind Bartimeus
As to her child a mother calls, In the Night
Autumn clouds are flying, flying Autumn Song
Away from the city’s herds! Longing
Babe Jesus lay in Mary’s lap, A Christmas Carol
Bands of dark and bands of light Travellers’ Song
Beautiful mother is busy all day, Mother Nature
Behind my father’s cottage lies The Hills
Better to smell the violet Better Things
Bing, Bim, Bang, Bome! The Owl and the Bell
Blue sky above, blue sea below, Far and Near
Brother artist, help me; come! Brother Artist!
Came of old to houses lonely Angels
Christmas-Days are still in store:⁠— Christmas, 1873
Cold my heart, and poor, and low, Christmas Prayer
Come unto me, the Master says:⁠— Come Unto Me
Come, children, put away your toys; Bedtime
Content Primroses, Wild Flowers
Daylight fades away. Antiphon
Days of old, Spring Song
Dead, why defend thee, who in life To the Same
Earth, if aught should check thy race, Faith
Fair morn, I bring my greeting My Eyes Make Pictures
Farewell, O Arm of the Lord! Failure
Father, in the dark I lay, Hymn for a Sick Girl
Father, our bosoms, dark and drear, Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
First-born of the creating Voice! Light
Forth to his study the sculptor goes The Unseen Model
From off the earth the vapours curled, The Golden Key
Go not forth to call Dame Sorrow To Any One
God gives his child upon his slate a sum⁠— Forgiveness
“Good morrow, my lord!” in the sky alone Sir Lark and King Sun
Gordon, the self-refusing, Song of the Saints and Angels
Gray clouds my heaven have covered o’er; God; Not Gift
Grief held me silent in my seat; Sympathy
Had I a great ship coming home, Our Ship
Had I the grace to win the grace The Grace of Grace
Hark, in the steeple the dull bell swinging A Song for Christmas
Hark, the rain is on my roof! The Journey
He who by a mother’s love Christmas Meditation
“Hear’st thou that sound upon the window pane?” Love’s Ordeal
Heaven and the sea attend the dying day, At My Window After Sunset
Heavily slumbered noonday bright The Child-Mother
Her mother, Elfie older grown, Reciprocity
How shall he sing who hath no song? How Shall He Sing Who Hath No Song
I am weary, and very lonely, Hard Times
“I do beseech thee, God, show me thy face.” The Unseen Face
I dreamed of a song⁠—I heard it sung; A Dream Song
I dreamed of a song, I heard it sung; A Song in a Dream
I follow, tottering, in the funeral train Rondel
I have a puppet-jointed child, Little Elfie
I have only one foot, but thousands of toes; Riddles
I know what beauty is, for thou I Know What Beauty Is
I lay and dreamed. The Master came, A Book of Dreams
I love thy skies, thy sunny mists, Noontide Hymn
I Thank Thee, boundless Giver, A Thanksgiving
I took it for a bird of prey that soared A Better Thing
I waited for the Master Waiting
I walked all night: the darkness did not yield. To A. J. Scott
I will sing a song, Bird-Songs
I will think as thinks the rabbit:⁠— A Make-Believe
I would I were a child, I Would I Were a Child
I would I were an angel strong, A Song in the Night
If I did seem to you no more To Any Friend
If I might guess, then guess I would Dorcas
“If I sit in the dust Abu Midjan
If I were a monk, and thou wert a nun, If I Were a Monk, and Thou Wert a Nun
If in my arms I bore my child, Appeal
If thou hadst been a sculptor, what a race Concerning Jesus
If we were longing for the bread Blessed Are They That Hunger
Imagination cannot rise above thee; To My Lord and Master
In that high country whither thou art gone, Russell Gurney
In the air why such a ringing? The Lark and the Wind
In the ancient house of ages, An Old Story
In the desert by the bush, The Temple of God
Is it wrong, the wish to be great, Willie’s Question
It is May, and the moon leans down at night The Thankless Lady
It is no winter night comes down To My Aging Friends
It was an awful hour that gave Blessed Are the Merciful
King Cole he reigned in Aureoland, King Cole
Kiss me: there now, little Neddy, The Mistletoe
Lawrence, what though the world be growing dark, To One Threatened with Blindness
Let your tears flow; let your sad sighs have scope; A Story of the Sea-Shore
Lie, little cow, and chew thy cud, Waiting
“Listen, darling, and tell to me The Sea-Shell
Little Bo-Peep, she has lost her sheep, Little Bo-Peep
Little Boy Blue lost his way in a wood⁠— Little Boy Blue
“Little one, who straight hast come The Christmas Child
Little one, you must not fret Going to Sleep
Look! look there! The Lost Soul
Lord Jesus, A Song Prayer
Lost the little one roams about, Lost but Safe
Love alone is great in might, Love Is Strength
Love is the part, and love is the whole; Love Is Home
Love, the baby, Love’s History
Loving looks the large-eyed cow, A Christmas Prayer
Mary, to thee the heart was given The Gospel Women
Men sought, ambition’s thirst to slake, To Lady Noel Byron
Merry, merry we well may be, Song of the Innocents
Methinks I see thee, lying straight and low, A. M. D.
Murmuring, ’twixt a murmur and moan, Summer Song
My gift would find thee fast asleep, A Gift
My heart is full of inarticulate pain, Longing
“My life is drear; walking I labour sore; Blind Sorrow
My Lily snatches not my gift; The Thank-Offering
My little boy, with smooth, fair cheeks, The Shadows
My little dog, who blessed you Dr. Doddridge’s Dog
My to-morrow is but a flitting To-Morrow
My wife contrived a fleecy thing An Old Sermon with a New Text
Night, with her power to silence day, My Heart
Nobody knows the world but me. Professor Noctutus
O do not leave me, mother, lest I weep; O Do Not Leave Me
O Father, I am in the dark, Dejection
O God, whose daylight leadeth down Evening Hymn
O Lord of life, thy quickening voice Morning Hymn
O Peter, wherefore didst thou doubt? Saint Peter
O son of man⁠—name of thy choice, Blessed Are the Meek
O Thou that walkest with nigh hopeless feet Life-Weary
O ye months of the year, Lycabas
Of old, with goodwill from the skies⁠— The Flower-Angels
Of whispering trees the tongues to hear, He Heeded Not
Oh how oft I wake and find To My God
Oh that men would praise the Lord Triolet
Old fables are not all a lie To My Sister
Our Father, hear our longing prayer, Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit
Prince Breacan of Denmark was lord of the strand Legend of the Corrievrechan
Proudly the youth, sudden with manhood crowned, A Hidden Life
Queen Mary one day Jesus sent A Meditation of St. Eligius
Quiet I lay at last, and knew no more Somnium Mystici
Ray of the Dawn of Truth, Aubrey de Vere, To Aubrey de Vere
“Rejoice,” said the Sun; “I will make thee gay Rejoice
Sad-hearted, be at peace: the snowdrop lies Oh Thou of Little Faith
Said the boy as he read, “I too will be bold, Said and Did
Shepherd, on before thy sheep, Written for One in Sore Pain
Son, first-born, at home abiding! Song of the Lonely
Speak to our hearts, O Father! Say Blessed Are They That Mourn
Star high, Christmas Day and Every Day
Summer is come again. The sun is bright, Hope Deferred
Sweet friends, receive my offering. You will find The Diary of an Old Soul
Take of the first fruits, Father, of thy care, To My Father
The brother knew well the castle old, The Old Castle
The croak of a raven hoar! A Mammon-Marriage
The hinges are so rusty A Prisoner
The infant lies in blessed ease The Children’s Heaven
The lightning and thunder A Baby-Sermon
The monk was praying in his cell, After an Old Legend
The mountain-stream may humbly boast In Memoriam Lady Caroline Charteris
The silence of traitorous feet! To Gordon, Leaving Khartoum
The skies are pale, the trees are stiff, A Christmas Carol for 1862
The sun is gone down Up and Down
The sun is sinking in the west, To G. M. T.
The thousand streets of London gray The Sheep and the Goat
The weary Old Year is dead at last; The Death of the Old Year
The witch lady walked along the strand, The Dead Hand
There breathes not a breath of the summer air Lessons for a Child
There is a river No End of No-Story
There was a girl that lost things⁠— The Girl That Lost Things
“They have no more wine!” she said. Marriage Song
They say that lonely sorrows do not chance: To S. F. S.
They were parted then at last? Winter Song
Thou art my thought, my heart, my being’s fortune, To the Life Eternal
“Thou wanderest in the land of dreams, The Man of Songs
Thou who mad’st the mighty clock A Prayer
Though in my heart no Christmas glee, Christmas, 1884
Thrice-happy he whose heart, each new-born night, The Burnt-Offering
Through still, bare streets, and cold moonshine The Homeless Ghost
Through the wood the sunny day The Sangreal
Thy world is made to fit thine own, This World
’Tis a little room, my friend⁠— My Room
’Tis a poor drizzly morning, dark and sad. A Manchester Poem
’Tis the midnight hour; I heard Death and Birth
’Tis time to sleep, my little boy: The Sleepless Jesus
’Tis we, not in thine arms, who weep and pray; The Father’s Worshippers
To all who fain The Disciple
To give a thing and take again The Giver
To God and man be simply true; To Aurelio Saffi
To whom the heavy burden clings, Zacchaeus
“Traveller, what lies over the hill? Tell Me
Trust him in the common light; Obedience
Trust my father, saith the eldest-born; What the Lord Saith
Upon a rock I sat⁠—a mountain-side, A Memorial of Africa
Victorious through failure! faithful Lord, General Gordon
Waking in the night to pray, Foolish Children
We doubt the word that tells us: Ask, Prayer
Well for youth to seek the strong, Christmas Song of the Old Children
Were I a skilful painter, Were I a Skilful Painter
Were thou and I the white pinions Two in One
What shall I be?⁠—I will be a knight The Three Horses
What would you see, if I took you up Up in the Tree
When at Philippi, he who would have freed To Garibaldi, with a Book
When God’s own child came down to earth, A Father to a Mother
When I am dead unto myself, and let, De Profundis
When I look back upon my life nigh spent, A Prayer
When in the bosom of the eldest night Death
When round the earth the Father’s hands Rest
When the clock hath ceased to tick A Dead House
When the snow is on the earth Coming
When things are holding wonted pace The Wakeful Sleeper
When thou turn’st away from ill, Approaches
When thy heart, love-filled, grows graver, Much and More
When, long ago, the daring of my youth To A. J. Scott
When, with all the loved around thee, To One Unsatisfied
Where did you come from, baby dear? Baby
“Where is thy crown, O tree of Love? Hope Deferred
Where the bud has never blown The Word of God
Where went the feet that hitherto have come? The Failing Track
Who follows Jesus shall not walk After Thomas Kemp
“Who is this little one lying,” Master and Boy
Who know thee, love: thy life be such A Birthday-Wish
Why dost thou want to sing My Heart Thy Lark
Winter froze both brook and well; What Makes Summer?
With us there is no gray fearing, A Song of the Waiting Dead
Within my heart a worm had long been hid. The Thorn in the Flesh
Would-be prophets tell us False Prophets
Young, as the day’s first-born Titanic brood, A Dream Within a Dream

All poets.