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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE ABSINTHE-DRINKER by ARTHUR WILLIAM SYMONS

Poet Analysis

First Line: GENTLY I WAVE THE VISIBLE WORLD AWAY
Last Line: ROCKED ON THIS DREAMY AND INDIFFERENT TIDE.
Subject(s): ALCOHOLISM & ALCOHOLICS; DRUNKARDS; ALCOHOL ABUSE;

Gently I wave the visible world away.
Far off, I hear a roar, afar yet near,
Far off and strange, a voice is in my ear,
And is the voice my own? the words I say
Fall strangely, like a dream, across the day;
And the dim sunshine is a dream. How clear,
New as the world to lovers' eyes, appear
The men and women passing on their way!

The world is very fair. The hours are all
Linked in a dance of mere forgetfulness.
I am at peace with God and man. O glide,
Sands of the hour-glass that I count not, fall
Serenely: scarce I feel your soft caress,
Rocked on this dreamy and indifferent tide.



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