Book: The Black Riders and Other Lines

Editor's Note:
A poetry textbook I once read posed a question to the reader with regard to line III asking the student, "Is this really a poem?" While you see little or nothing in the way of mechanics (rhyme, meter, etc.) you'll be struck by Crane's striking images and metaphors, and by the clear, concise language he uses to deliver them. Crane himself declined to call them poems, referring to them only as 'lines'.

Crane's view of life must have been a cynnical one. His prose works, including The Red Badge of Courage for which he is far better known, carry the same sombre tone as the Black Riders. His works revolve around the idea that man is more the victem of his fate than the decider of it, and that fate is rarely kind and frequently cruel. Crane was primarily a journalist, though criticised by his editors for providing impressions more than facts. Whether you ascribe to Crane's bleak view of fate or (hopefully) a more positive one, you will find his parables striking and difficult to forget

• Three little birds in a row

  Three little birds in a row
  Sat musing.

  10 lines
• In the desert

  In the desert
  I saw a creature, naked, bestial,

  10 lines, 1 comment
• And you love me

  And you love me
  I love you.

  28 lines, 15 comments
• Yes, I have a thousand tongues

  Yes, I have a thousand tongues,
  And nine and ninety-nine lie.

  5 lines
• The sage lectured brilliantly

  The sage lectured brilliantly.
  Before him, two images:

  13 lines, 3 comments
• Once there came a man

  Once there came a man
  Who said,

  14 lines
• You say you are holy,

  You say you are holy,
  And that

  5 lines, 1 comment
• Mystic shadow

  Mystic shadow, bending near me,
  Who art thou?

  9 lines, 1 comment
• God lay dead in heaven;

  God lay dead in heaven;
  Angels sang the hymn of the end;

  18 lines, 4 comments
• I looked here

  I looked here;
  I looked there;

  9 lines, 1 comment
• I was in the darkness;

  I was in the darkness;
  I could not see my words

  5 lines
• I stood upon a high place

  I stood upon a high place,
  And saw, below, many devils

  6 lines
• It was wrong to do this, said the angel

  "It was wrong to do this," said the angel.
  "You should live like a flower,

  10 lines, 6 comments
• In a lonely place

  In a lonely place,
  I encountered a sage

  10 lines
• There was a man who lived a life of fire

  There was a man who lived a life of fire.
  Even upon the fabric of time,

  8 lines, 3 comments
• The Sins of the Fathers

  "And the sins of the fathers shall be
  visited upon the heads of the children,

  10 lines, 1 comment
• The ocean said to me once,

  The ocean said to me once,
  "Look!

  19 lines
• If there is a witness to my little life

  If there is a witness to my little life,
  To my tiny throes and struggles,

  4 lines
• I walked in a desert

  I walked in a desert.
  And I cried,

  7 lines
• There was crimson clash of war.

  There was crimson clash of war.
  Lands turned black and bare;

  9 lines
• Many red devils ran from my heart

  Many red devils ran from my heart
  And out upon the page,

  8 lines, 3 comments
• Charity thou art a lie

  Charity thou art a lie,
  A toy of women,

  7 lines, 1 comment
• Why do you strive for greatness, fool?

  Why do you strive for greatness, fool?
  Go pluck a bough and wear it.

  9 lines, 1 comment
• There were many who went in huddled procession

  There were many who went in huddled procession,
  They knew not whither;

  8 lines
• A man feared that he might find an assassin

  A man feared that he might find an assassin;
  Another that he might find a victim.

  2 lines, 1 comment
• In heaven,

  In heaven,
  Some little blades of grass

  18 lines
• Upon the road of my life,

  Upon the road of my life,
  Passed me many fair creatures,

  19 lines, 1 comment
• A god in wrath

  A god in wrath
  Was beating a man;

  12 lines, 1 comment
• ’Scaped

  Once, I knew a fine song,
  — It is true, believe me —

  10 lines, 1 comment
• A learned man came to me once

  A learned man came to me once.
  He said, "I know the way, -- come."

  9 lines, 1 comment
• On the horizon the peaks assembled

  On the horizon the peaks assembled;
  And as I looked,

  5 lines
• There was, before me,

  There was, before me,
  Mile upon mile

  15 lines, 3 comments
• The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds

  The livid lightnings flashed in the clouds;
  The leaden thunders crashed.

  12 lines
• Love walked alone

  Love walked alone.
  The rocks cut her tender feet,

  5 lines, 1 comment
• Places among the stars,

  Places among the stars,
  Soft gardens near the sun,

  12 lines, 1 comment
• There came whisperings in the winds

  There came whisperings in the winds:
  "Good-bye! Good-bye!"

  10 lines
• I saw a man pursuing the horizon

  I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
  Round and round they sped.

  8 lines, 2 comments
• Tradition, thou art for suckling children

  Tradition, thou art for suckling children,
  Thou art the enlivening milk for babes;

  5 lines
• Why?

  Behold, the grave of a wicked man,
  And near it, a stern spirit.

  13 lines
• Once there was a man

  Once there was a man --
  Oh, so wise!

  13 lines, 1 comment
• There was set before me a mighty hill,

  There was set before me a mighty hill,
  And long days I climbed

  7 lines
• A man went before a strange God

  A man went before a strange God --
  The God of many men, sadly wise.

  14 lines, 1 comment
• Content

  A youth in apparel that glittered
  Went to walk in a grim forest.

  14 lines
• Blustering God,

  i
  Blustering God,

  27 lines, 1 comment
• Truth

  "Truth," said a traveller,
  "Is a rock, a mighty fortress;

  17 lines, 8 comments
• A man toiled on a burning road

  A man toiled on a burning road,
  Never resting.

  12 lines
• Behold, from the land of the farther suns

  Behold, from the land of the farther suns
  I returned.

  12 lines
• With eye and with gesture

  With eye and with gesture
  You say you are holy.

  8 lines, 1 comment
• Supposing that I should have the courage

  Supposing that I should have the courage
  To let a red sword of virtue

  10 lines, 2 comments
• Walking in the sky,

  Walking in the sky,
  A man in strange black garb

  7 lines, 1 comment
• Many workmen

  Many workmen
  Built a huge ball of masonry

  11 lines
• There was a man and a woman

  i
  There was a man and a woman

  23 lines
• Two or three angels

  Two or three angels
  Came near to the earth.

  8 lines
• There was a great cathedral

  There was a great cathedral.
  To solemn songs,

  10 lines
• There was one I met upon the road

  There was one I met upon the road
  Who looked at me with kind eyes.

  17 lines
• If I should cast off this tattered coat,

  If I should cast off this tattered coat,
  And go free into the mighty sky;

  6 lines, 1 comment
• A man saw a ball of gold in the sky;

  A man saw a ball of gold in the sky;
  He climbed for it,

  11 lines
• A spirit sped

  A spirit sped
  Through spaces of night;

  22 lines, 2 comments
• The Black Riders

  Black riders came from the sea.
  There was clang and clang of spear and shield,

  5 lines, 1 comment

• By me, right now

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