To Venus. III-26 (From The Odes Of Horace)

    Lately was I to gentle maidens suited,
        And not without some glory did contend,
    But now my weapons and my lute made useless
        For contests, on this wall I will suspend,
    That guards the left side of our sea-born Venus;
        Here, here, place you my gleaming waxen torch,
    My levers and my crow-bars that can threaten
        The doors that ought to open on this porch.
    Oh, Goddess, thou who blessed Cyprus rulest,
        And Memphis ever lacking Thracian snow,
    My Queen, in passing, with thy whip uplifted
        Give to my haughty Chloe just one blow.

Helen Leah Reed

Helen Leah Reed (1860-1926) was an American author and poet, renowned for her contributions to children's literature and her historical novels. She was an influential literary figure of her time, often remembered for her stories that blended education with entertainment. Reed's works reflected her deep knowledge and interest in history, making her a notable figure in early 20th-century American literature.

Helen Leah Reed

The Rivals

Helen Leah Reed, Simple Poetry

A Palinode. I-16 (From The Odes Of Horace)

Helen Leah Reed, Simple Poetry

A Fancy

Helen Leah Reed, Simple Poetry

The Christmas Letter

Helen Leah Reed, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

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To Neobule. III-12 (From The Odes Of Horace)

    Ah! Unhappy are the maidens, who love's game are kept from playing,
        Nor in mellow wine may wash away their cares;
    Who, scared by scolding uncles' tongues, their terror are displaying, -
        But from you, though, Neobulé, Cupid bears
    Your basket and your webs, yet all the zeal you have been showing
        For industrious Minerva, is the prey
    Of fair Hebrus, Liparæan, when his shoulders, oiled and glowing,
        He has bathed in Tiber's waters. Let me say
    As a horseman, than Bellerophon he's really something greater;
        Never worsted in a hand-fight, nor a race.
    Skilled to shoot the flying stag-herd in the open, - swift he later
        Snares the boar, close-hidden in a shady place.

Helen Leah Reed

To Melpomene. IV-3 (From The Odes Of Horace)

    Oh, him whom at birth you with favor regarded
        Melpomene! never an Isthmian game
    Shall render renowned, though he's skilled as a boxer,
        Nor shall a swift horse lead him onward to fame.
    Though a victor he rides in a chariot Achaian,
        Not him shall the fortune of war ever show.
    In the Capitol wearing the garland of laurel
        Because the proud threatenings of kings he laid low.
    But every stream flowing over the country
        Fertile Tibur around, and so every grove
    With its thick-growing leaves shall ennoble the poet,
        In Æolian song he ennobled shall prove.
    The offspring of Rome, that is Queen among cities,
        Me have deemed as a bard to be worthy a place
    In her glorious choir, and less and less keen...

Helen Leah Reed

To Venus

Venus, dear Cnidian-Paphian queen!
Desert that Cyprus way off yonder,
And fare you hence, where with incense
My Glycera would have you fonder;
And to your joy bring hence your boy,
The Graces with unbelted laughter,
The Nymphs, and Youth,--then, then, in sooth,
Should Mercury come tagging after.

Eugene Field

Pallas And Venus. An Epigram

The Trojan swain had judged the great dispute,
And beauty's power obtain'd the golden fruit,
When Venus, loose in all her naked charms,
Met Jove's great daughter clad in shining arms,
The wanton goddess view'd the warlike maid
From head to foot, and tauntingly she said;

Yield sister; rival, yield: naked, you see,
I vanquish: guess how potent I should be,
If to the field I came in armour dress'd,
Dreadful like thine my shield, and terrible my crest!

The warrior goddess with disdain replied,
Thy folly, child, is equal to thy pride:
Let a brave enemy for once advise,
And Venus (if 'tis possible) be wise:
Thou to be strong must put off every dress;
Thy only armour is thy nakedness;
And more than once (or thou art much belied)
By Mars himself that ...

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Homer's Hymn To Venus.

Muse, sing the deeds of golden Aphrodite,
Who wakens with her smile the lulled delight
Of sweet desire, taming the eternal kings
Of Heaven, and men, and all the living things
That fleet along the air, or whom the sea,
Or earth, with her maternal ministry,
Nourish innumerable, thy delight
All seek ... O crowned Aphrodite!
Three spirits canst thou not deceive or quell: -
Minerva, child of Jove, who loves too well
Fierce war and mingling combat, and the fame
Of glorious deeds, to heed thy gentle flame.
Diana ... golden-shafted queen,
Is tamed not by thy smiles; the shadows green
Of the wild woods, the bow, the...
And piercing cries amid the swift pursuit
Of beasts among waste mountains, - such delight
Is hers, and men who know and do the right.
Nor Satu...

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Horace And Lydia. III-9 (From The Odes Of Horace)

    "One time when I was pleasing to you, Lydia,
        And when no other youth, preferred to me,
    Your snowy neck could with his arms encircle,
        Then happier I than Persia's King may be."

    "When of another you were less enamored,
        Nor ranked me after Chloe in your love,
    Then I, your Lydia, of wide reputation,
        Than Roman Ilia more renowned could prove."

    "Now Thracian Chloe, skilled in mellow measures,
        And expert on the harp, holds me her slave,
    To die for her would never cause me terror,
        If her - my soul - the Fates alive would save."

    "'Tis Calais, Ornytus' son, the Thurian,
        Who now consumes me with a mutual fire,
    Ah! death for him twice over would I suffer,
        Would but...

Helen Leah Reed