Helen Hunt Jackson was an American poet and activist. She worked to improve conditions for Native Americans living in the United States. Her works, Ramona and A Century of Dishonor were socially motivated. The latter was the first book she published under her name. In it, she condemned “Indian” policies.
The ‘Coronation’ by Helen Hunt Jackson can be considered a literary work that represents the topic of power and its instability, the worth of humility, and the desire for self-knowledge.
At the king's gate the subtle noon
Wove filmy yellow nets of sun;
Into the drowsy snare too soon
The guards fell one by one.
‘Outward Bound’ by Helen Hunt Jackson is a rousing sonnet that dispels one’s fears of traveling into the unknown with a reminder that we make the same bold excursions every day of our lives without ever acknowledging it.
The hour has come. Strong hands the anchor raise;
Friends stand and weep along the fading shore,
In sudden fear lest we return no more,
In sudden fancy thaThe safer stays
‘God’s Light-Houses’ by Helen Hunt Jackson is a visually stunning poem that muses over the various types of light that guide maritime travelers and the planets alike.
When night falls on the earth, the sea
From east to west lies twinkling bright
With shining beams from beacons high
Which flash afar a friendly light.
‘Opportunity’ by Helen Hunt Jackson depicts one person’s encounter with a rapturous and divinely-given vision.
I do not know if, climbing some steep hill,
Through fragrant wooded pass, this glimpse I bought,
Or whether in some mid-day I was caught
To upper air, where visions of God’s will
‘October’s Bright Blue Weather’ by Helen Hunt Jackson gushes over one person’s loving examination of all the ways October is superior in terms of beauty.
O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;
‘The Way to Sing’ by Helen Hunt Jackson is a touching poem that gleans an altruistic purpose in the music shared by birds.
The birds must know. Who wisely sings
Will sing as they;
The common air has generous wings.
Songs make their way.
‘Dreams’ by Helen Hunt Jackson exists on the boundary between dream and nightmare as it explores the way in which memories of the past return to us in our sleep no matter how hard we try to forget them.
Mysterious shapes, with wands of joy and pain,
Which seize us unaware in helpless sleep,
And lead us to the houses where we keep
Our secrets hid, well barred by every chain
‘Milkweed’ by Helen Hunt Jackson is a sonnet concerning the beauty of the milkweed plant. Here the poet upholds the importance of humbleness and simplicity.
O patient creature with a peasant face,
Burnt by the summer sun, begrimed with stains,
And standing humbly in the dingy lanes!
There seems a mystery in thy work and place,
‘Poppies on the Wheat’ by Helen Hunt Jackson describes the pleasure in the sight of a wheat field in Italy which is covered in lines of poppies.
Along Ancona's hills the shimmering heat,
A tropic tide of air with ebb and flow
Bathes all the fields of wheat until they glow
Like flashing seas of green, which toss and beat
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