The Black Riders and Other Lines

I was more aware of Stephen Crane as a novelist than as a poet, but his directness and simple prose really shine in this collection. As is usual for me, I liked his short poems more, but unlike most authors of his era (the late 1800's) Crane mostly sticks to shorter poems.

Here are my favorites from this collection, starting with the most famous of his poems, which is what got me to read the rest of them.

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

X
Should the wide world roll away,
Leaving black terror,
Limitless night,
Nor God, nor show more man, nor place to stand
Would be to me essential,
If thou and thy white arms were there,
And the fall to doom a long way.

XIII
If there is a witness to my little life,
To my tiny throes and struggles,
He sees a fool;
And it is not fine for gods to menace fools.

XXIII
Places among the stars,
So gardens near the sun,
Keep your distant beauty;
Shed no beams upon my weak heart.
Since she is here
In a place of blackness,
Not your golden days
Nor your silver nights
Can call me to you.
Since she is here
In a place of blackness,
Here I stay and wait.

XXIV
I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
Round and round they sped.
I was disturbed at this;
I accosted the man.
"It is futile," I said,
"You can never"--
"You lie," he cried,
And ran on

XLVII
"Think as I think," said a man,
"Or you are abominably wicked;
"You are a toad."
And after I had thought of it,
I said, "I will, then, be a toad."

XLVIII
Once there was a man,--
Oh, so wise!
In all drink
He detected the bitter,
And in all touch
He found the sting.
At last he cried thus:
"Here is nothing,--
"No life,
"No joy,
"No pain,--
"Here is nothing save opinion,"
"And opinion be damned." show less

Brilliant work in the short line. Crane feels somewhere between myth and pure image.

Until recently, my only experience with Stephen Crane was, as is likely the case for most people, with The Red Badge of Courage, which I read during the summer between my ninth and tenth grades. As a teenage girl, I didn’t really get into the Civil War novel, which is regretful. After rediscovering him through his poetry, I think I’ll have to go back and reread it, because his poems are most delightful.

Full review: http://libwen.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/the-black-riders-and-other-lines-by-steph...