Once, on a gold May morning, As I walked through a town, I met a Merchant crying, "One white, one purple gown!" He stopped me, swift demanding, "Which will you have of me? This white -- is yours for nothing! This purple -- thalers three!" "I'll take from you, Old Merchant, The gown for which I pay!" I gayly donned the garment And went my careless way! The skies grew dark and darker; A fog brought mystery; Beside me stalked black shadows That pecked the heart of me! I sought the wary Merchant; He gave me but one look: "Hope's robe was yours for nothing! Despair's was what you took!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...YOUNG BLOOD by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET CONTRA MORTEM: THE BEING by HAYDEN CARRUTH TWO POEMS FROM THE WAR: 1 by ARCHIBALD MACLEISH PEOPLE'S SURROUNDINGS by MARIANNE MOORE SPIRITUAL ISOLATION: A FRAGMENT by ISAAC ROSENBERG GOOD-BYE DOROTHY GAYLE: ST. CLOUD, MINNESOTA by KAREN SWENSON |