BENEATH the flat and paper sky The sun, a demon's eye, Glowed through the air, that mask of glass; All wand'ring sounds that pass Seemed out of tune, as if the light Were fiddle-strings pulled tight. The market-square with spire and bell Clanged out the hour in Hell. The busy chatter of the heat Shrilled like a parokeet; And shuddering at the noonday light The dust lay dead and white As powder on a mummy's face, Or fawned with simian grace Round booths with many a hard bright toy And wooden brittle joy: The cap and bells of Time the Clown That, jangling, whistled down, Young cherubs hidden in the guise Of every bird that flies; And star-bright masks for youth to wear, Lest any dream that fare -- Bright pilgrim -- past our ken, should see Hints of Reality. Upon the sharp-set grass, shrill-green, Tall trees like rattles lean, And jangle sharp and dizzily; But when night falls they sigh Till Pierrot moon steals slyly in, His face more white than sin, Black-masked, and with cool touch lays bare Each cherry, plum, and pear. Then underneath the veiled eyes Of houses; like a hopeless prayer They cleave the sly dumb air. Blind are those houses, paper-thin; Old shadows hid therein, With sly and crazy movements creep Like marionettes, and weep. Tall windows show Infinity; And, hard reality, The candles weep and pry and dance Like lives mocked at by Chance. The rooms are vast as Sleep within: When once I ventured in, Chill Silence, like a surging sea Slowly enveloped me. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON A PORTRAIT OF WORDSWORTH BY B.R. HAYDON by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE NIGHT [NICHT] IS NEAR [NIGH] GONE by ALEXANDER MONTGOMERIE SPRING QUIET by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI BLESS, DEAR SAVIOUR, THIS CHILD by THOMAS BECK LOVE RIDES DISGUISED by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT ON DREAMS by SAMUEL EGERTON BRYDGES |