A list of poems by Robert E. Howard (1906–1936), an American writer and poet in early 20th century Texas. His love of poetry came from being read to by his mother at a young age. However, his attempts to make a living by poetry were unsuccessful and he is today most remembered for his short stories and fiction. Nevertheless, Howard wrote hundreds of poems; many were published within his lifetime and the others published after his 1936 suicide.

Key Title Lines Opening line Place of publication Publication date Alternative title(s) Source text Notes References The title of the poem # The text of the first known line in the poem The book or magazine in which the poem was first published The date on which the poem was first published Any alternative titles by which the poem is also known Links to online texts where available Further information about the poem Bibliographic sources An alternative title for the poem The main title of the poem

The lack of information in a column does not necessarily mean that the information does not exist, only that verifiable information is not currently available. For example, the lack of publication information does not necessarily mean that a poem has not been published to date, nor does the lack of a definite note about the public domain indicate that a poem is still under copyright.

This table may be sorted by different columns by clicking on the icon in the appropriate column. Clicking the icon again will alternate between ascending and descending order.

Additional notes

Title/Alternative title: Some poems are known by multiple titles. Alternative titles are shown in the column of the same name. Every effort has been made to list full information at all entries for each title, to save the user time in scrolling. Occasionally, alternative titles appear consecutively, in which case the second entry will follow without additional information, shown in a darker gray on the table. In other cases, some poems were not titled by Howard or the original title has not survived. Some poems have been given tentative titles after Howard's death; this is indicated in the Notes column. Where multiple titles exist, they have been listed alphabetically by their various designations following the word "Untitled." Some pieces of poetry were used by Howard as epigraphs within his stories. listed these poems under the title of the short story rather than the title of the poem itself, so the poems are listed under those titles as well. With epigraphs, the first publication information given in this table is that of the poem's first printing separated from the story.

Lines: The number of lines in the poem.

Source text: Links given in the Source Text column are to copies of the poem in online libraries (where available). For ease of browsing the table, these links are preceded by a small icon. For example, for poems on Wikisource.

References: Bibliographic references are given in the final column of each row. The exception to this is the Notes column; as notes may come from diverse sources, or from a separate part of one of the main sources, each individual note is followed by its own reference.

Poetry {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! width="15%" | Title ! width="3%" | Lines ! width="15%" | Opening line ! width="13%" | Place of publication ! width="7%" | Publication date ! width="8%" | Alternative title(s) ! width="8%" | Source text ! width="21%" | Notes ! width="10%" | References

| "I am a Devon oak" || 20 || I am a Devon oak || A Rhyme of Salem Town and Other Poems || 2002 || Devon Oak; Untitled ("I am a Devon oak") || || Tentative title || |- | "I am an actor ..." || 12 || I am an actor and have been an actor from birth || A Rhyme of Salem Town and Other Poems || 2002 || Actor, The; Untitled ("I am an actor ...") || || Tentative title || Thom, Herman & Woods, § A |- | I am MAN from the primal, I || 7 || I am MAN from the primal, I || The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval || Mar 2007 || Untitled: I am MAN from the primal, I || Wikisource || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, c. March 1928 ; PD || |- | I am the Spirit of War! || 9 || I am the Spirit of War! || The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval || Mar 2007 || Untitled: I am the Spirit of War! || Wikisource || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, January 30, 1925 ; PD || |- | I Call the Muster of Iron Men || || I call the muster of iron men || Argosy All-Story Weekly|| July 20, 1929 || Untitled: ("I call the muster of iron men") || || From an early draft of the short story "Crowd-Horror"; titled with the first line in COLLECTED POETRY || |- | "I can recall a quiet sky ..." || 8 || I can recall a quiet sky once more || The Howard Collector #5 || Summer 1964 || Dawn in Flanders, A; Untitled ("I can recall a quiet sky ...") || || || |- | "I carved a woman out of marble when" || 14 || I carved a woman out of marble when || Poet's Scroll || Jan 1929 || Flaming Marble; Untitled ("I carved a woman out of marble when") || Wikisource || PD; Pen name: Patrick Howard || |- | "I caught Joan alone upon her bed" || 4 || I caught Joan alone upon her bed || A Rhyme of Salem Town and Other Poems || 2002 || Prelude; Untitled ("I caught Joan alone upon her bed") || || Tentative title || |- | "I cut my teeth on toil and pain" || 12 || I cut my teeth on toil and pain || The Ghost Ocean and Other Poems of the Supernatural || 1982 || When the Glaciers Rumbled South; Untitled ("I cut my teeth on toil and pain") || || Tentative title || |- | I do not sing of a paradise || 4 || I do not sing of a paradise || The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1: 1923-1929 || Jun 2007 || Untitled: ("I do not sing of a paradise") || Wikisource || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, c. January 1928 ; PD || |- | "If life was a thing that money could buy" || 2 || If life was a thing that money could buy || The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1: 1923-1929 || Jun 2007 ||Untitled: ("If life was a thing that money could buy") || || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, ca. October 1927; contained in the story "The Fastidious Fooey Mancucu"; parody of an old saying whose second line is usually some variant of "The rich would live and the poor would die" || |- | I hate the man who tells me that I lied || 24 || I hate the man who tells me that I lied || The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1: 1923-1929 || Jun 2007 || Untitled: I hate the man who tells me that I lied || Wikisource || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, c. November 1928 ; PD || |- | "I heard the drum as I went ..." || 14 || I heard the drum as I went down the street || A Rhyme of Salem Town and Other Poems || 2002 || Drum, The; Untitled ("I heard the drum as I went ...") || || Tentative title || |- | I hold all women are a gang of tramps || 10 || I hold all women are a gang of tramps || The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval || Mar 2007 || Untitled: I hold all women are a gang of tramps || Wikisource || PD || |- | I knocked upon her lattice — soft! || 8 || I knocked upon her lattice — soft! || Lewd Tales || 1987 || Untitled: I knocked upon her lattice — soft! || || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, c. March 1929 ; From: Songs of Bastards, Act 1, Scene 1 || |- | I lay in Yen's opium joint || 7 || I lay in Yen's opium joint || The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval || Mar 2007 || Untitled: I lay in Yen's opium joint || Wikisource || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, January 30, 1925 ; PD || |- | I Praise my Nativity || 10 || Oh, evil the day that I was born, like a tale that a witch has told || Fantasy Book #23 || Mar 1987 || || || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, undated || |- | "I saw the grass on the hillside bend" || 16 || I saw the grass on the hillside bend || Weirdbook #12 || 1977 || Dance Macabre; Untitled ("I saw the grass on the hillside bend") || || Tentative title || |- | "I stand in the streets of the city" || 8 || I stand in the streets of the city || Night Images || 1976 || King of the Ages Comes, The; Untitled ("I stand in the streets of the city") || || Tentative title || |- | I tell you this my friend ... || 9 || I tell you this my friend ... || The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval || Mar 2007 || Untitled: I tell you this my friend ... || Wikisource || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, August 6, 1925 ; PD || |- | "I too have strode those white-paved roads" || 4 || I too have strode those white-paved roads that run || The Howard Collector #17 || Autumn 1972 || Roads; Untitled ("I too have strode those white-paved roads") || || Originally untitled || |- | "I was a chief of the Chatagai" || 21 || I was a chief of the Chatagai || Night Images || 1976 || Thousand Years Ago, A; Untitled ("I was a chief of the Chatagai") || || Tentative title || |- | "I was a prince of China, lord of a million spears ..." || 18 || I was a prince of China, lord of a million spears || Always Comes Evening || 1957 || Prince and Beggar; Untitled ("I was a prince of China, lord of a million spears ...") || || Originally untitled || |- | "I, was I there" || 10 || I, was I there || A Rhyme of Salem Town and Other Poems || 2002 || Was I There?; Untitled ("I, was I there") || || Tentative title || |- | "I was once, I declare, a grog-shop man" || 28 || I was once, I declare, a grog-shop man || Shadows of Dreams || 1989 || Ballad of Beer, A; Untitled ("I was once, I declare, a grog-shop man") || || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, c. July 1930 ; Originally untitled || Thom, Herman & Woods, § B |- | Illusion || 26 || I stood upon surf-booming cliffs || The Daniel Baker Collegian || 15 March 1926 || || Wikisource || PD || |- | I'm more than a man... || || I'm more than a man ... || n/a || n/a || Untitled: I'm more than a man ... || || From the draft of the story Yellow Laughter ; Never published || |- | In the Ring || 47 || Over the place the lights go out || Robert E. Howard's Fight Magazine #4 || Oct 1996 || Untitled("Over the place the lights go out") || || Tentative title || |- | Incident of the Muscovy-Turkish War, An || 14 || Many were slaughtered in that final charge || A Rhyme of Salem Town and Other Poems || 2002 || || || || |- | Insomnia || || || n/a || n/a || || || Lost || Thom, Herman & Woods, § C |- | Invective || 4 || There burns in me no honeyed drop of love || Always Comes Evening || 1957 || Untitled ("There burns in me ...") || "Invective" || || |- | Invocation || 14 || Break down the world and mold it once again! || n/a || n/a || || || Part 5 of 5 in the Black Dawn cycle ; Never published separately || |- | The Invocation || 4 || Baal, lord Baal, of the ebon throne || Yesteryear #4 || Oct 1989 || || || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, c. February 1929 ; First poem in the cycle "The Mysteries" || |- | Iron Harp, The [poem cycle]|| 134 || 1. The blind black shadows reach inhuman arms / 2. Now in the gloom the pulsing drums repeat / 3. Ten million years beyond the sweep of Time / 4. The great black tower rose to split the stars / 5. A roar of battle thundered in the hills || The Last of the Trunk Och Brev I Urval || Mar 2007 || Echoing Shadows; Voices of the Night || || A group of five poems: "The Voices Waken Memory" (24 lines); "Babel" (19 lines); "Laughter in the Gulfs" (18 lines); "Moon Shame" (34 lines); and "A Crown for a King" (39 lines); Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, undated, beginning "The Seeker thrust ..."; Does NOT include the individual poem "The Iron Harp," which is, confusingly, the fourth poem in the BLACK DAWN cycle! || |- | Iron Harp, The (2) || 32 || They sell brown men for gold in Zanzibar || n/a || n/a || || || Part 4 of 5 in the Black Dawn cycle—NOT part of the "Iron Harp" poem cycle! ; Never published separately || |- | The iron harp that Adam christened Life || 18 || The iron harp that Adam christened Life || The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1: 1923-1929 || Jun 2007 || Untitled: The iron harp that Adam christened Life || Wikisource || Letter: Tevis Clyde Smith, c. April 1929 ; PD || |-