ACROSS the court there rises the back wall Of the Magna Carta Apartments. The other evening the people in the apartment opposite Had forgotten to draw their curtains. I could see them dining: the well-blanched cloth, The silver and glass, the crystal water jug, The meat and vegetables; and their clean pink hands Outstretched in busy gesture. It was pleasant to watch them, they were so human; So gay, innocent, unconscious of scrutiny. They were four: an elderly couple, A young man, and a girl -- with lovely shoulders Mellow in the glow of the lamp. They were sitting over coffee, and I could see their hands talking. At last the older two left the room. The boy and girl looked at each other.... Like a flash, they leaned and kissed. Good old human race that keeps on multiplying! A little later I went down the street to the movies, And there I saw all four, laughing and joking together. And as I watched them I felt like God -- Benevolent, all-knowing, and tender. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MOTHERHOOD by CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY EPITAPH ON A HARE by WILLIAM COWPER THE BIGLOW PAPERS. 2D SERIES: 2. JONATHAN TO JOHN by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE VANITY OF THE WORLD by FRANCIS QUARLES ODES I, 5 by QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS ELEGIAC SONNET: 7. ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE NIGHTINGALE by CHARLOTTE SMITH |