Honey Gatherers

Maura Dooley was born in Truro, grew up in Bristol, worked for some years in Yorkshire, and has lived in London for the past 25 years. She is a freelance writer and lectures at Goldsmiths’ College. She edited Making for Planet Alice: New Women Poets (1997) and The Honey Gatherers: A Book of Love Poems (2002) for Bloodaxe, and How Novelists Work (2000) for Seren. Her selection, Sound Barrier: Poems 1982-2002, was published by Bloodaxe in 2002, drawing on collections including Explaining Magnetism (1991) and Kissing a Bone (1996), both Poetry Book Society Recommendations. Kissing a Bone and her later collection Life Under Water, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation in 2008, were both shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. Her poem 'Cleaning Jim Dine's Heart' was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem in 2015, and was included in her latest collection, The Silvering, also a Poetry Book Society Recommendation (Bloodaxe Books, 2016). She received a Cholmondeley Award from the Society of Authors in 2016. Her translation (with Elhum Shakerifar) of Azita Ghahreman's Negative of a Group Photograph (Farsi title: نگاتیو یک عکس دسته جمعی) was published by Bloodaxe Books with the Poetry Translation Centre in 2018.

• Maura Dooley15Preface1 ‘What the heart is like’Thomas Middleton18LoveMiroslav Holub18What the heart is likeRobert Bridges20‘So sweet love seemed that April morn’Linda France20If Love Was JazzPenelope Shuttle21Looking for LoveAnne Sexton23Just OnceWendy Cope23FlowersWislawa Szymborska24Family Album2 ‘What is to be given’James Fenton26In Paris with YouW.B. Yeats27A Drinking SongWilliam Wordsworth27‘She was a Phantom of delight’Hilaire Belloc28JulietAnonymous28When Molly SmilesJames S. Martinez29My Little LizeLouis MacNeice30Meeting PointSir John Suckling31SongSappho33‘It seems to me that man is equal to the gods’Thomas Hardy34Faintheart in a Railway TrainEdwin Denby34The SubwayVictor Tapner35Coffee ShopDelmore Schwartz36What is to be GivenFernando Pessoa36The Leaves’ Audible SmileWilliam Blake37SongAdrienne Rich37The LoserAustin Clarke39The Planter’s DaughterPatrick Kavanagh39On Raglan RoadHugo Williams40The Water BearerOodgeroo41GiftsBrian Patten41A Blade of GrassLiz Lochhead42I Wouldn’t Thank You for a ValentineEmily Dickinson43‘The Way I read a Letter’Federico García Lorca44The Poet speaks to the loved oneRobert Frost44The TelephoneJackie Kay45LovesickC.K. Williams46Love: BeginningsSelima Hill47Dewpond and Black Drain-pipesTed Hughes48Snow and Snow3 ‘What are all these kissings worth’Stevie Smith50Conviction IVCoventry Patmore50The KissSara Teasdale50The LookPercy Bysshe Shelley51Love’s PhilosophyAnne Haverty52In the CountryAnonymous52A Love-SongRuth Padel52Being Late to Meet You at the StationLeigh Hunt53Jenny Kissed MeCatullus53‘Time to live and let love, Lesbia’Naomi Mitchison54Old Love and NewTracy Ryan54BiteStevie Smith55The Frog PrinceJudith Wright57‘Dove-Love’Chris Wallace-Crabbe57The Amorous CannibalJo Shapcott58Muse4 ‘Let lovers go fresh and sweet to be undone’Simon Armitage60Night ShiftChristopher Reid60At the Wrong DoorCarol Ann Duffy61SteamD.H. Lawrence62Gloire de DijonSujata Bhatt62Love in a BathtubEdward Thomas63Like the Touch of RainJohn Montague63All Legendary ObstaclesRichard Wilbur64Love Calls Us to the Things of This WorldAnne Haverty66DoAnonymous67Scarborough FairAnonymous68The Shirt of a LadRita Dove68His ShirtNigel Jenkins70ShirtsPete Morgan71The Shirt of a LadHenry Nutter72The Girl in the Calico DressMichael Longley73The Linen IndustryYehuda Amichai74It was Summer, or the End of Summer5 ‘And our mouths run over with luscious smiles’Rita Ann Higgins76It’s PlatonicBen Jonson76Song: to CeliaJohn Agard77Get Down Ye AngelsOmar Khayyam77from The Rubaiyat of Omar KhayyamThomas Moore78The Young May MoonEdmund Waller78SongAndrew Marvell79To His Coy MistressChristopher Marlowe80The Passionate Shepherd to His LoveSir Walter Ralegh81The Nymph’s Reply to the ShepherdLangston Hughes82When Sue Wears RedKing James Bible83from The Song of SolomonMichael Ondaatje84Women Like YouHelen Dunmore86Wild strawberriesThomas Lynch87A Note on the Rapture to His true LoveGrace Nichols88The Way Your Sleeping HandEdith Södergran88RevelationDavid Constantine89MistressDave Smith90Walking Under a Spruce with My LoveFrank O’Hara92Having a Coke with YouJames Fenton92I’ll ExplainRobert Herrick92Her Bed6 ‘Wild Nights – Wild Nights!’Petronius94‘Good God, what a night that was’Emily Dickinson94‘Wild Nights’Billy Collins95Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s ClothesSonia Sanchez96BluesSelima Hill97The RamFleur Adcock98CouplingCole Porter98Night and DayJames McAuley99AubadeKenneth Rexroth100Marichiko: ‘Making love with you’Grace Nichols100ConfigurationsJudith Wright101Woman to ManMichael Donaghy102PentecostPenelope Shuttle103Act of LoveJohn Donne105The Good MorrowAnonymous106Plucking the RushesKing James Bible106from The Song of SolomonAndré Breton107Freedom of LoveElizabeth Smart109from By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and WeptTed Hughes109LovesongJohn Donne111The EcstasyMichael Ondaatje113The Cinnamon PeelerDeborah Randall115Ballygrand WidowFrancis Stuart116HomecomingSarah Maguire116Spilt MilkA.D. Hope117The Wandering IslandsJohn Berryman118Dream Songs, 142C.K. Williams119The LoverWilliam Shakespeare119‘Th’expense of spirit in a waste of shame’Jo Shapcott120Vegetable LoveAnonymous121John Anderson, My JoJames Berry123Flame and WaterJames Berry124Earth and AirAlan Brownjohn125At the TimeYehuda Amichai125A Pity. We Were Such a Good InventionMichael Longley126Swans Mating7 ‘How do I love thee?’Omar Khayyam128from The Rubaiyat of Omar KhayyamAdrian Mitchell128Celia CeliaAnonymous129AlisounAnonymous130The Lovely ÉtanIan Duhig130From the IrishJohn Wain130Apology for UnderstatementElizabeth Barrett Browning131‘How do I love thee?’John Dowland132‘Fine knacks for ladies’William Shakespeare133‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’W.B. Yeats133He Wishes for the Cloths of HeavenPaul Durcan134Cleaning AshtraysDeryn Rees-Jones135CalciumPrimo Levi13611 February 1946Nessie Dunsmuir137The White WordW.S. Graham137I Leave This at Your EarElizabeth Bishop138Late AirAnonymous138I Will Give My Love an AppleRobin Robertson139StaticPadraic Colum140She Moved Through the Fair‘Ephelia’141To one that asked me why I lov’d J.G.Shane Leslie141Bog LoveWilliam Shakespeare142‘My Mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun’Edmund Blunden142Lonely LoveSamuel Daniel143‘When men shall find thy flower’ William Shakespeare144‘When forty winters shall besiege thy brow’Pierre de Ronsard144‘Since she’s all winter’Sir John Betjeman145In a Bath TeashopAdrian Mitchell145Giving PotatoesE.E. Cummings146‘somewhere i have never travelled’Li Po147The River Merchant’s Wife: A LetterW.H. Auden148LullabyChristopher Logue150Air for the Witness of a DepartureDorothy Parker151Love SongRainer Maria Rilke152‘You who never arrived’ 8 ‘I will love thee until my death’Delmore Schwartz154The Beautiful American Word, SureJohn Keats154‘Bright star, would I were as stedfast as thou art’Alice Oswald155Ballad of a ShadowJohn Donne156A Valediction: forbidding MourningEdna St Vincent Millay157Modern DeclarationWilliam Shakespeare158‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds’Leo Marks158Code PoemSamuel Taylor Coleridge159Answer to a Child’s QuestionSir John Suckling159SongChristopher Brennan160It is so long ago!Sir Thomas Wyatt160‘Forget not yet the tried intent’Gwen Harwood161Meditation on Wyatt IIJames McAuley162One Thing at LeastJohn Gower162‘O thou my sorwe and my gladnesse’Richard Lovelace163To Althea, From PrisonElizabeth Barrett Browning164‘If thou must love me’9 ‘If ever two were one, then surely we’Philip Larkin166Wedding-WindAlice Oswald166WeddingGeorge Meredith167‘By this he knew she wept with waking eyes’Richard Crashaw168An Epitaph upon Husband and Wifewho died and were buried togetherStevie Smith168Marriage I ThinkUna Marson169To Wed or Not to WedKatherine Philips170An Answer to another perswading a Lady to MarriageEdna St Vincent Millay171SonnetKate Clanchy172For a WeddingAnne Bradstreet172To My Dear and Loving HusbandSir Philip Sidney173A DittyRainer Maria Rilke173Love SongConrad Aiken174The QuarrelRobert Creeley175Love Comes QuietlySharon Olds175True LoveDavid Campbell176We Took the Storms to BedJonathan Davidson177Happy TogetherE.B. White177Natural HistoryKit Wright178From CheshireHenry Treece178The Heart’s Wild GeeseCarol Ann Duffy179Anne HathawayRobert Crawford180HomeWilliam Stafford181Passing RemarkSeamus Heaney181The UndergroundLavinia Greenlaw182UnderworldEdward Lear182The Owl and the Pussy-CatGillian Allnutt182OdeMichael Laskey185BikePaul Muldoon186Long FinishW.S. Graham189To My Wife at MidnightThom Gunn191The HugFleur Adcock192KissingRobert Lowell193ElizabethJackie Kay193SnapJudith Herzberg194Old AgePhilip Larkin194Talking in BedSolveig von Schoultz195ConversationPierre de Ronsard195‘When you are old’W.B. Yeats196When You Are OldJonathan Swift196Stella’s BirthdayEsther Johnson197To Dr Swift on his BirthdayTheodore Roethke198I Knew a WomanMaurice Riordan199The TableAndrew Motion200On the TableMichael Laskey200The KnifeChristina Rossetti201Autumn VioletsTess Gallagher202Black VioletsCharlotte Mew203RoomsEdward Thomas203And You, HelenU.A. Fanthorpe204Atlas10 ‘I am no good at love’Dorothy Parker206CommentIsobel Campbell206A Learned MistressMarina Tsvetaeva207I’ve dissolved for youEleanor Brown208BitcherelGeoffrey Chaucer209from The Wife of Bath’s TaleLesbia Harford209The Folk I LoveAlicia Stubbersfield210Unsuitable ShoesWilliam Shakespeare211‘Sigh no more, Ladies’A.E. Housman211from A Shropshire LadW.B. Yeats212The Pity of LoveMarvin Bell212Being in LoveWilliam Shakespeare213‘When my love swears that she is made of truth’Francis Ledwidge214The Sorrow of LoveHugo Williams214The RibbonSir Philip Sidney215‘With how sad steps, O Moon’Vicki Feaver216The CrackKamau Brathwaite217SchoonerThomas Hardy218At Castle BoterelDermot Healy219O WomanH.D.220‘Never more will the wind’Catullus221Odi et amoAdrienne Rich221The Parting: IIWalter de la Mare222When Love FliesSir Philip Sidney222from Astrophil and StellaThomas Campion223‘Thrice toss these oaken ashes in the air’Amy Levy223To Lallie (Outside the British Museum)Kamau Brathwaite225BluesW.B. Yeats226Down by the Salley GardensJames Fenton227I Know What I’m MissingAnne Sexton228That DayThomas Hardy229The VoiceBhartrhari230‘She who is always in my thoughts’Robert Herrick230Impossibilities to his FriendA.E. Housman231‘He would not stay for me’Wendy Cope231Another Unfortunate ChoiceNoel Coward231I Am No Good at LoveRobert Graves232Love without HopeCarol Ann Duffy232Warming Her PearlsCharlotte Mew233The Farmer’s BrideFreda Downie235A Plain GirlRoger McGough236VinegarSir Thomas Wyatt236‘Whoso list to hunt’Elizabeth Jennings237DelayGjertrud Schnackenberg237Snow MeltingVikram Seth238AcrossLorna Goodison238LepidopteristPaul Muldoon239The TrainPeter Sansom240K563Bob Dylan241Don’t Think Twice, It’s All RightW.B. Yeats242No Second Troy11 ‘The end of love ’Lord Byron244‘So we’ll go no more a-roving’Bob Dylan244I Threw It All AwayMatthew Arnold245SeparationSir Thomas Wyatt246FarewellJohn Keats247La Belle Dame sans MerciNina Cassian248Of No UseSamuel Beckett249‘I would like my love to die’Sir Thomas Wyatt249‘They flee from me that sometime did me seek’Geoffrey Chaucer (?)250Merciles BeauteSophie Hannah251The End of LoveMichael Drayton252‘Since there’s no help’James K. Baxter252I have cut from my heartC.K. Williams253Love: The DanceElizabeth Smart253from By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and WeptXu Zhi Mo254Don’t Pinch Me, HurtsFederico García Lorca255Sonnet of the Sweet ComplaintSheila Wingfield255WinterPeter Dale256RetrospectJames Fenton257Out of DangerJames Wright258A Breath of Air12 ‘What will survive of us is love’Traditional260She’s Like the SwallowAnonymous260Frankie and JohnnyAnonymous263Donal OgW.H. Auden264Funeral BluesMark Doty265Where you arePeter Jolliffe266LacunaVikram Seth267All You Who Sleep TonightFrances Cornford267She Warns HimFrances Cornford268All Soul’s NightPercy Bysshe Shelley268Music, When Soft Voices DieEdmund Spenser269One Day I Wrote Her Name Upon the StrandJohn Clare269Love lives beyond the TombJ.M. Synge270A QuestionR.S. Thomas271MadrigalCharles Baudelaire271I Dreamt that you were not DeadEibhlín Dhubh Ní Chonaill272The Lament for Arthur O’LearyChristina Rossetti283RememberPablo Neruda284Dead WomanLangston Hughes285Song for a Dark GirlRobert Graves286Lost LoveOscar Wilde286RequiescatDora Sigerson287I want to talk to theeTheodore Roethke288The ApparitionJohn Dowland289Me, Me, and None But MeLouis MacNeice289The Sunlight on the GardenRobert Penn Warren290In Moonlight, Somewhere, They Are SingingElizabeth Barrett Browning291‘Belovèd, my Belovèd’Raymond Carver292Late FragmentPhilip Larkin292An Arundel Tomb296Acknowledgements301Index of poets and translators304Index of titles and first lines