Light smoke wings, Icarian birds;
You will melt your ascent in a flight up;
The lark without singing is the messenger of the dawn
They nest upon rolling hills;
Or departing from a dream, and a shadowy form
Middle vision, gather your skirts;
At night the starry veil and during the day
To darken the light and destroy the sun;
Enter from this hearth my incense,
And pray to the gods to forgive this bright flame.
In 1842, Henry David Thoreau lived near Walden Pond, and wrote a wonderful book in dedication to his brother, who had recently died. This work and the political book On the Office of Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau was widely published; But this Harvard-educated man was also a talented poet and made his poetry known.
Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. When the family lived in near poverty, he studied at Harvard University, like his maternal grandfather. After realizing his unique ideas, Thoreau changed his name to Henry David and returned home to support his family and He quickly finished his course as a teacher and as a result he and his brother John Jr opened from the doctrine of American Transcendentalism. At the same time, in 1837, he began to write essays and poems on the literary subject of essays and literature Ralph Waldo Emerson;
Early in his writing career, Thoreau thought of himself as a poet; yet it was clear that poetry was a restrictive medium for him. The inferior verses of his prose style have been seen. He wrote no less than 300 poems. Similarly, in his arguments, he expressed his sense of nature, injustice, and love.
Thoreau’s career as a poet spanned nearly thirteen years, with most of his verses written before Walden Pond and the death of his brother. Eighty-five of his poems were published in various journals during his lifetime, but the first volume of his poems was published after his death.
Whatever we leave to God, God does;
And bless us;
The work we choose is ours;
God leaves alone
If I sing with a light head raised;
The Muses may give all their strength;
No love makes me miserable;
The verse is weak and shallow in its source.
Thoreau believed that the duty of the poet was to reveal the truth of nature and many agree that his best poems speak of human relations and of human; life Thoreau’s most famous poem is the smoke that appears in his Chapter of Walden Warming. Other notable examples of inspiration for Thoreau’s poetic meditations include What the Earth Prays For.
Thoreau was a writer whose prose poetry was sketched. But his poems revealed much about the inner man and his love in his art. A talented group among its writers, it was honored and sometimes praised in poetry. During his lifetime and shortly after his death, poetry received little attention. But lovers of poetry mature can understand and appreciate in meditations and intelligent rhymes. In one of his shortest verses, Thoreau spoke of his life. He wrote that in his poem
It was my life, I would write a poem;
but I could not both live and speak.
Like many prominent writers of his time, Thoreau succumbed to illness and never fully recovered. He died at his home in Concord in May 1862. When he died, he left American writers a legacy of intelligent prose and perceptive verse.
More information about Henry David Thoreau’s great works, including Walden Pond and the collection of Henry Thoreau’s Poems can be found at local library, book dealers and online books. The web also offers some useful resources about life and work. Check out the following:
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/
/
