STEPHEN CRANE PROSE AND POETRY Maggie: A Girl of the Streets ‘The Red Badge of Courage Stores, Skesches, and Journalism Pactry Tier Lewenser, obs fea New york i104Vv i Yes, [have a thousand tongues, And nine and ninety-nine ke. ‘Though 1 strive 0 use the one, Ie will make no melody ac my will, Bur is dead in my mouth v Once there came a mn Whose, Range meal men of dhe woddin rows.” ‘nd sey ‘These ware claorariong the people ins being ranged in ow ‘There way» fou quarrel, woskvie Tenure forage [Ain blood was thd By those who would not standin sows, ‘Ae by shoe ho pin to and in ow. Brenly the ma enero death, weeping. ‘And tote who sald in bloody see Kew not the gest simply VI God fashioned the ship ofthe world carefily With the infinite skill of an all master ‘Made He the hull and the sails, Held He the rudder Ready for adjustment. Erect stood He, scanning His work proudly. ‘Then—at fate ime—a wrong called, ‘And God tamed, heeding. Lo, the ship, a this opportunity, slipped slyly, Making cunning noiseless travel down the ways, So that, forever rudderes, it went upon the seas Going ridiculous voyages, ‘Making quaine progress, THE BLACK RIDERS ‘Tuning as with serious purpose Before stupid winds, ‘And there were many in the sky Who laughed ae this thing vi ty tar ae a feces vir looked here Tlooked there No where coil se my this tine? She was in my bear “Truly then Ihave no complaine For though she be fae and fer She is noe so fie athe In my bear. x ee And soy Bake Remcne Ser seat en Ore eed And seid, “Comfade! Becher?” ot02 rors ‘THE BLACK RIDEas i x * xm Should the wide word roll away here isa witness 1 my lil ie, Leaving back retor To my tiny throes and struggles, Limitless night, Nor God, nor man, nor place to stand Would be to me essential Ifthou and thy white arms were dhere ‘And the fill to doom a long way. Ina lonely place, encountered a Sage Who sat, all stil, Regarding a newspaper. He accosted me: Sic, wna is this?” | ‘Then I saw that I was greater, | Aye, greater chan this sage. j answered him at once, i Old, old man, itis the wisdom of the age.” : ‘The sage looked upon me with admiration 1 xn a “And the sins of the fathers shall be visited upon the heads of the children, even nto the third and fourth ‘generation of them that hate me.” Wel, then, [hate Thee, unrighteous pictures ‘Wicked image, [hate Thee; So, strike with Thy vengeance ‘The heads of those litle men Who come biinly. twill bea brave hing, t He sees a fool; ‘And i is not fine for gods to menace fools xv ‘There was crimson lath of war, “Lands eared lack and bare; Wemen wept; Babes ran, wondering ‘There came one who understood not these things Hie sid, “Why is this?” Whercupon ion aso co ae, 3c was such intiat clamor of ton ‘That still the reason was not. = xv “Tal brave deeds of war.” ‘Then they recounted tales,— “There were stern sends - “And bitter rans for glory.” ‘Ab, [think there were braver deeds. XVI Charity, thow art i, Atoy of women, ‘A pleasure of ceftuin men, Inthe presence of justice, Lo, the wall ofthe temple Are visible ‘Through thy form of sudden shadows.04 POEMS XVI “There were many who went in huddled procession, ‘They knew not whither; Br, at any rate, successor calamity Would attend ail in equality “There was one who sought a new road. “He went into direfulthickes, ‘And ulkimarely he died chus, alone; But they std he had courage. XVvu In Heaven, ‘Some litle blades of grass Stood before God. “What did you do?” ‘Then al sive one ofthe little blades Began eagerly 10 relate ‘The ments of theie lives, This one stayed a small way behind Ashamed, Dresently God sai “And whae did you do?” ‘The lide blade answered: “Ob, my lord, “Memory is bitter 0 me “For if | did good deeds “T know not of them.” ‘Then God in all His splendor Arose from His throne. | Oh, bes lite blade of grass” He said, 4 xx A god in wrath Was beating a man; He cuffed him loudly ‘With thunderous Blows ‘That rang and rolled over the earth. THE BLACK RIDERS All people came running. ‘The man screamed and struggled, And bit madly atthe fet ofthe god, ‘The people cried, Ah, what a Wicked man!” And— “Ah, what 2 redoubrable god!” xt ‘Alem man came to me once. Fe id, “Thnow the way-—com And was orejoyed ti ‘ogeher we hastened S000, 100 #00, were we Where my eyes were sce, And T knew ot the ways of my eet. Tung tothe hand of ey fend Bur at st he ced tam tose sor “There was, before me, Mie upon mile OF snow, i, baring sand Aa yet could lok beyond al his, ‘Toa pce of inte beauy, And could seth loveliness of hee ‘Who walked in she shade of the wees. When gee, Alla lve Buc es place of benury and her. When gud, ‘And in yang, desired, ‘Then exe Spain Mie upon mie, Of snow, ke, Biming sand1306 xx ne min any, nd vanged in bate Gone agate then ood le man, Ae, he was no bigge than my inge Tighe, and spoke to one near me, “Wihe pal Sue repled this xh : “Hr gander bes them many tines ‘Then al ace much vine ia grander — Alesse, fr the ide man Fo stood agains the moun xox Places among the stars, Soft gardens near the sun, Keep your distant beauty; Shed no beams upon my weak heart Since she is here Ina place of blackness, Not your golden days NNor your silver nights Can call me t0 you Since she i here Ina place of blackness, Here I stay and wait xxry * 1 ew man pursing the horizon; Round and ound ty sped Tym dined ath, 1 Scott the man Satis dle” Td, “ou ean never — “You lie,” be ered, ‘And ran on. 1 | | xy Behold, the grave of a wicked ma, And near it, aster spice There came a drooping maid with violets Bar the spit grasped hie arm. “No flowers for him,” he said. The maid we “Ah, Clove him.” Bas the spt, im and own "No fowen forhime Now, this isi — Ihe spire was just, ‘Why dic the maid weep? XXVI * “here was before me a might il And long days fda oY ‘Through sels of mow When tha before me the sammitview, Tesceme tha my bor Fa ben tot aden Tying st imposile dence, XXVIT A youth in apparel that gistered Went to walkin a grim forest. ‘There he met an asassin Altre all in garb of old days; He, scowling through the thickets, ‘And dagger poised quivering, Rushed upon the youth, “Sir” said this later, “Tam enchanted, believe me, “Te dl, thus, “In this medieval fashion,308 vous THE BLACK RIDERS 9 “Acconding to the best legends, ‘He made answer slowly, Ah, what joy!” “Spivt, this a world, “Then took he the wound, smiling, “This was your home And died, content xox* XXVIII Supposing that should have the courage “Truth,” said a traveller, “Isa rock, a mighty fortress; “Often have I been t0 it, “yen to its highest rower, “From whence the world looks black” “Truth,” said a traveller, “Is breath, a wind, A shadow a phantom; Long have I pursued it, “But never have I touched “The hem of its garment.” ‘Andi I believed the second traveller; For trath was to me Abbreth, a wind, ‘A shadow, a phantom, ‘And never had T touched ‘The hem of its garment. 00x [Bchole, from the land ofthe facher suns reeurned. ‘And T was in a repsile-swarming place, Peopled, otherwise, with grimace, Shrouded above in black impenecrablenes. Tshrank, loathing, Sick with i ‘And I sid fo him, What is this?” ‘To lea red sword of virme Plunge into my heart, Letting to the weeds of the ground [My sinful blood, ‘What can you oifer me? A gardened castle) AA flowery kingdom? What? A hope? ‘Then hence With your red sword of vir. XXXI Many workmen Bile a huge ball of masonry ‘Upon 2 moun. ‘hey went to the valley below, ‘And tamed to behold their work, “Tcis grand,” they said; ‘They loved the thing, Of sudden, i moved Tecame upon then swifly It ershed them all to blos But some bad opporuniy to aguesl SOOT ‘Two or three angels Came neat to the earth. ‘They saw a fat chureh, Little black streams of people6 xux* TT seood musing in a black world, [Not knowing where to direct my fet [And Tsar the quick stream of men Pouring ceaselessly, Filled with eager fies, Avtorcent of desie Tealled to ther, “Where do you go? What do you see?” {A thousand voices called to me AA thousand fingers pointed. “Look! Look! There!” T know not of ‘But, Jo! in che far sky shone a radiance Tneffable, divine,— ‘A vision painted upon a pall; ‘And sometimes it was, ‘And sometimes it was not. Thestated ‘Then from the stream (Came roaring voices, Impatient: “Look! Look! There!” So again I saw, And leaped, unestant, ‘And struggled and famed With outspread clutching fingers. The hard bills tore ray flesh; ‘The ways bit my feet. ‘At hst I looked again No radiance inthe far sky, Ineffable, divine; [No vision psinted upon a pall: ‘Aad always my eyes ached for the light ‘Then I erie in despair, “Tce nothing! Oh, where do I go2” THE BLACK RiDERs iw ‘The torrent turned again its fces: “Look! Look! There!” ‘And at the blindness of my spice “Fool! Fool! Fool!” L You say you are hak nla Because 1 have not seen you sin Aye, but there are ‘hos Who see ou sn my en ur The god of many men, sadly ioe, Betterment e es one Soria The man fled, Then the man went to another pod — ‘The god of his inner thoughts, Ge And this one looked a With soft yes Lt with inte compehesion, ‘And said, “My poor child?” La Why do you strive for greatness, fool? Go pluck a bough and wear i. Teisas slicingWell, he is dead, ° ‘And thete went your opportuni LLetit be your gre ‘That he is dead {And your opportunity gone; For, in that, you were 2 coward LX ‘There was a man who lived a life of fe. Even upon the fabric of time, ‘Where purple becomes orange And orange purple, “This lie glowed, A die red stain, indelible; Yer when he was dead, Hee saw that he had noe live. LX “There wat a grat ithedal To sols song, 2 ie proses Moved ower the a The cic man there ‘Was eet, and bore hme proudly. Yer some could se bi ering, Asin plac of dagen ‘heowing Highton glances nto the as, ‘rv etnies of he pase uxiv* Friend, your white beard sweeps the ground Why do you mand, expectant? Do'you hope see In one of your withered days With your old jes Do you hope to see | | | | | \ i | THE BLACK RIDERS i ‘The triumphal march of justice? Do noe wai, fiend, ‘Take your white beard And your old eyes ‘To mote tender lands, LXV Once, I knew a fine song, —Itis true, believe me Iwas all of birds, ‘And T held them in a basket; When Topened the wicker, Heavens! They all lew away. Tried, “Come back, litle thoughts!” ‘Bur they only laughed They flew on Unni chey were as sand ‘Thrown between me and the sky. LXVI JET should ca ff this aero cot And go ee Into the mighty sky, IFT should find nothing there Buta vas be, Exholy pnovang— What en? LXVIL God lay dead in Heavens Anges bang the ym ofthe ends Purple winds went moaning. That wings dp-dpin Wat blood PPPs “That fl opon the earth Te groming thing, Tlamed blak an tankms Beethro o we “Sing ow in be moonlight “Hetend ofthe an of dom “Of pace wise endl fle “Ridin of wore ears chad men in ey ter SMa pty ooo “Ghane ew pain” ‘What says the sea, liede shell? “Whar says the sea? Long has our brother been silent 10 us Kept his message forthe ships “pany ships sly ships” he sex bids you reach, ob, pines “Sing low in he moon ath he glo pee “Gay gospel of gee an “Gy Soho of bears “The sen bide you eal, ob pines” “And where isthe reward, lite shell? “What says the sea? “Long has our brother been silent 10 us “Kept his message forthe ships “Puny ships, silly ships.” No word sys the sea, ob, pines “No word sajs the Sea “Long will your brother be silent ro you “Keep his message for the ships On, pny pines, sly pines. To the maiden ‘The sea was blue meadow Alive with lite froch-people Singing. aan tome Nitplacntiaantmasitpeeaiaa oe WAR IS KIND wr ‘To the sailor, wrecked, ‘The sea was dead grey walls Superlative in vacancy Upon which nevertheless a faeful time, Was written ‘The grim hatred of nature. A lite ink more or less! Tesurely cat matter? Even the sky and the opulent sea, ‘The plans and the hills, aloof, ‘Hear the uproar of ll these Books Buti is only a lide ink more or les. Whar You define me God wi hese rinks Can my misry meal ona ered waking Of pled nts Anda nae of is? reven pon the measred ppt Of the familiar false and true? e Teths Gov? Where then is ele Show me some basa mushroom Sprang foes plan of boos is beer Whereis Godt “lave you ever made a just man?” “Ob, Thave made three,” answered God “But two of them are dead And the third—— Listen! Listen! “And you will hear the thud of his defeat.”0 poms Om the desert Ailence from the moon's deepest valley Fice-ays fill thwart the robes Flooded men, squat and damb, [Before them, a woman Moves to the blowing of shell whisdes ‘And diseantthunder of dramas While slow things, sinuous, dull with terible color Sleeply fondle her body (Ge move at her wil, swishing stalthily over the san. ‘The snakes whisper softy: “The whispering, whispering snakes Dreaming and swaying and staring [But always whispering, sofly whispering, The wind streams from the lone reaches (Of Arabia, solemn with night, ‘And the wild fire makes shimmer of blood ‘Over the robes of the hooded men Squat and dam’, Bands of moving bronze, emerald, yellow, (Girele the throat and the arms of her ‘And over the sands serpents move warily Slow, menacing and submissive, ‘Swinging to the whistles and deums, ‘The whispering, whispering snakes, Dreaming and swaying and staring [But always whispering, sofly whispering. The dignity of the accurséd ‘The glory of slavery, despair, death Is in the dance of the whispering snakes, ‘A newspaper isa collection of half injustices ‘Which, bawled by boys from mile to mile, Spreade its curious opinion ‘To million mercifal and sneering men, WAR 18 KiND ae While fais cde he joys ofthe reside ‘When spe By ao de ne tony, newspaper is 4 court : Where every one Kn and ui ri Bya squalor of one men 4 ‘A pewpaper iss marr Whece dom sel ts eedom nd melons ae ered by the crowd Arowpiperis pune ez hit eon sos the player vi Wie aera wins dead, 7 Arrewspaper a symbol, Fels feces ites chro A callestion of ou es cnteing tal epi, “hae in emote apes Led ered, Roaring though a endless woe ‘The wayfarer * ercvng the puthvay o wath Wis suuck with astonishment Je was thie prown wi weed “Ha,” he sid ‘Tse that none his passed here “tua long eine.” Later he sv that cach weed War singular te “Well he mumbled alse, “Doubs there ate other roads” A slant of sun on dull brown walls ‘A forgotten sky of bashful blu,‘Men born of wrong, men born of right ‘Men of the new batalions The blue battalions — ‘The clang of swords is Thy wisdom ‘The wounded make gestures like Thy Son’s ‘The feet of mad horses is one part, Aye, another isthe hand of a mother on the brow ‘ofa son. ‘Then swift as they charge through a shadow, “The men of the new battalions Blue batalions— God lead them high. God lead chem far [Lead them far, lead them high ‘These new battalions “The blue batalions— * ‘A man adsift on a slim spar A horigon smaller than the rim of a botle “Tented waves rearing lshy dark points ‘The near whine of froch in circles. God is cold The incessant rise and swing of the sea And grow after growl of eest ‘The sinkings, green, seething, endless “The upheaval hal-completed Ged i cold ‘The seas are in the hollow of The Hands (Oceans may be turned t0 2 spray Raining down through the stars [Because ofa gesture of pity toward a babe. ‘Oceans may become grey ashes, Die with a long moan and a roar Amid dhe tule of the fishes | | | | vNcoLEcTsD Posws ta. And the eres of the ships, Because The Hand beckons the mice, 4 horizon smaller han a doomed asain’ cy Inky, surging cumules ea Aecling, drunken sy and no sky A pal han sliding fom a pose spa. God is cod ‘The puff of a coat imprisoning aie. A face kissing the water-death ‘A.weary slow sway of a lost hand And the sea the moving se, the sea God is col, There exists the cma fact of confice ‘nnd— exes mec sense olay ‘Afterward we deve sustenance fo the wind Acewerd we pip upon is Sens of ean Aftcvar, we become pata The goal vie of patcas makes us saves And—let us surrender to this falsity : Ler be pens ‘Then weleome us the us the practi men Thrummieg on thousand dune The practic men, God help They ey alot o be ke to war an They have been poluoons on a thousand felts unite Ske Sad of Ney Tonk th cond rious to face the Spas, thee peopl, and eal ember ig They name srs an sed charity in balk to beter men They pay a being fice, hese people of New teak Who are to wellresal to prorat spine infor,