Witness, would you -- one more young man in the evening of his love hurrying to confession: steps down a gutter crosses a street goes in at a doorway opens for you -- like some great flower -- a room filled with lamplight; or whirls himself obediently to the curl of a hill some wind-dancing afternoon; lies for you in the futile darkness of a wall, sets stars dancing to the crack of a leaf -- and -- leaning his head away -- snuffs (secretly) the bitter powder from his thumb's hollow, takes your blessing and goes home to bed? Witness instead whether you like it or not a dark vinegar-smelling place from which trickles the chuckle of beginning laughter. It strikes midnight. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AULD LANG SYNE by ROBERT BURNS THE FORERUNNERS by GEORGE HERBERT |