Late

Late written by Walter de la Mare

Peacock Pie (1913)

Link to further information

 Three small men in a small house,
 And none to hear them say,
 'One for his nob,' and 'One for his noddle,'
 And 'One for his dumb dog Stray!'
 'Clubs are trumps -- and he's dealt and bluffed':
 'And Jack of diamonds led':
 'And perhaps the cullie has dropped a shoe;
 He tarries so late,' they said.
 
 Three small men in a small house,
 And one small empty chair,
 One with his moleskin over his brows,
 One with his crany bare,
 And one with a dismal cast in his eye,
 Rocking a heavy head. . .
 'And perhaps the cullie's at The Wide World's End;
 He tarries so late,' they said.
 
 Three small men in a small house,
 And a candle guttering low,
 One with his cheek on the ace of spades,
 And two on the boards below.
 And a window black 'gainst a waste of stars,
 And a moon five dark nights dead. . .
 'Who's that a-knocking and a-knocking and a-knocking?'
 One stirred in his sleep and said.

Works by this author are in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 69 years or less. cs | de | en | eo | es | fr | he | pl | ru | zh

  ▲ top