Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses by Thomas Hardy
page 18 of 158 (11%)
page 18 of 158 (11%)
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III Nebulous flames in crystal cages Leered as if with discontent at city movement, murk, and grime, And as waiting some procession of great ghosts from bygone ages To exalt the ignoble time. IV In a colonnade high-lighted, By a thoroughfare where stern utilitarian traffic dinned, On a red and white emblazonment of players and parts, I sighted The name of "Rosalind," V And her famous mates of "Arden," Who observed no stricter customs than "the seasons' difference" bade, Who lived with running brooks for books in Nature's wildwood garden, And called idleness their trade . . . VI Now the poster stirred an ember Still remaining from my ardours of some forty years before, When the selfsame portal on an eve it thrilled me to remember A like announcement bore; VII |
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