I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears
Night and morning with my tears,
And I sunned it with smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright,
And my foe beheld it shine,
and he knew that it was mine,--
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning, glad, I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
Public domain. Source: PoetryDB. Reproduced verbatim; see theanthology for the full collection.
Poems like A POISON TREE
Matched by documented rules, not taste: two points for every theme tag a poem shares with A POISON TREE, one point for the same era, one for a similar length.