Holles Street (The Rocky Road To Dublin)

    Through the air,
    Everywhere, the rain is falling;
    Brawling on house and tree:
    On every place that you can see
    The rain drops go;
    The roofs are wet, the walls, the ground below.

    Midnight has come;
    Now all the people stretch them blind and dumb
    Each in a bed
    Save I, who sit and listen overhead
    Unto the rain
    Splashing upon the roof and window-pane.

    Midnight! and I
    Can get no sleep, nor can the sky.

James Stephens

James Stephens was an Irish novelist and poet, whose literary output includes many retellings of Irish myths and fairy tales. He was born on February 9, 1880, and passed away on December 26, 1950. Notable works include 'The Crock of Gold' and 'The Demi-Gods'. Stephens also wrote several well-regarded collections of poetry, including 'The Hill of Vision' and 'Insurrections'. His work is characterized by a blend of myth, fantasy, and modernism, capturing the spirit and culture of Ireland.

James Stephens

The County Mayo

James Stephens, Simple Poetry

Mary Ruane

James Stephens, Simple Poetry

The Rivals

James Stephens, Simple Poetry

Nancy Walsh

James Stephens, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Merrion Square (The Rocky Road To Dublin)

    Grey clouds on the tinted sky,
    A drifting moon, a quiet breeze
    Drooping mournfully to cry
    In the branches of the trees.

    The crying wind, the sighing trees,
    The ruffled stars, the darkness falling
    Down the sky, and on the breeze
    A belated linnet calling.

James Stephens

Mount Street (The Rocky Road To Dublin)

    Here and there on the wings of night
    A fleck of blue and purple light,
    A scrap of cloud, a bird, a star,
    A comet hurrying afar
    On the abyss, and the moon
    Standing in her silver shoon.

    On the summit of the sky,
    Delicate and proud and high,
    The silver moon on a silver sea
    Spins her silver broidery
    While the stars send down a light
    Here and there on the wings of night.

James Stephens

Donnybrook (The Rocky Road To Dublin)

    I saw the moon so broad and bright
    Sailing high on a frosty night:

    And the air swung far and far between
    The silver disc and the orb of green:

    While here and there a wisp of white
    Cloud-film swam on the misty light:

    And crusted thickly on the sky,
    High and higher and yet more high,

    Were golden star-points dusted through
    The great, wide, silent vault of blue:

    Then I said to me, God is good
    And the world is fair, and where I stood

    I knelt me down and bent my head,
    And said my prayers, and went to bed.

James Stephens

The Shadow (The Rocky Road To Dublin)

    Silence comes upon the night,
        Gone is all the cheerful day,
    The moon has disappeared from sight,
        Every star has gone away.

    Sinking through the void, and thence
        Disappearing, star and sky,
    In the stern and black immense
        That has blinded every eye.

    Silence crouches on the land,
        In the street a shadow lies
    Cloaked in velvet wrappings, and
        With a mask upon her eyes.

    Anonymous and terrible
        Mother of the primal ray,
    Only night because thou art
        In thyself excess of day.

James Stephens

York Street (The Rocky Road To Dublin)

    If in winter you shall drive
    Birds from crumbs, you shall not thrive;
    But if you feed them, they will fly
    To sing it sweetly on the sky.

    So throw up the window, and
    Scatter with a lavish hand,
    Taking care you do not spill
    Flower-pots from the window-sill,

    Singing, "Ireland shall be free
    From the centre to the sea";
    Singing bravely once again,
    "We are Dan O'Connell's Men."

James Stephens

O'Connell Bridge (The Rocky Road To Dublin)

    In Dublin town the people see
    Gorgeous clouds sail gorgeously,
    They are finer, I declare,
    Than the clouds of anywhere.

    A swirl of blue and red and green,
    A stream of blinding gold, a sheen
    From silver hill and pearly ridge
    Comes each evening on the bridge.

    So when you walk in a field, look down,
    Lest you tramp on a daisy's crown,
    But in a city look always high
    And watch the beautiful clouds go by.

James Stephens