THEY crush together - a rustling heap of flesh - Of more than flesh, a heap of souls; and then They part, enmesh, And crush together again, Like the pink petals of a too sanguine rose Frightened shut just when it blows. Though all alike in their tinsel livery, And indistinguishable at a sweeping glance, They muster, maybe, As lives wide in irrelevance; A world of her own has each one underneath, Detached as a sword from its sheath. Daughters, wives, mistresses; honest or false, sold, bought; Hearts of all sizes; gay, fond, gushing, or penned, Various in thought Of lover, rival, friend; Links in a one-pulsed chain, all showing one smile, Yet severed so many a mile! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A COAT by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS RIDDLE by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD CASSANDRA by RICHARD BARNFIELD LANDSCAPE by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE LIFE'S PATTERN by VERDA BORISFIELD BELLA GORRY; THE PAZON'S STORY by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN MY DOVES by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE FORFEIT by AMELIA JOSEPHINE BURR LYRICS OF THE RAIL: 1. THE SCORNED TOWN by GEORGE HERBERT CLARKE |