When I Returned

When I Returned written by William Henry Davies

Nature Poems (1908)

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When I returned to that great London Town,
And saw Old Father Thames, one August night,
Looking at me with half a thousand eyes;
When I at morn saw how the Heavenly light
Could burnish that dull gold on dome and spire -
I lost all instinct, like a horse near fire.

No thought of ragged youths, and ghastly girls
Whose metal laughter oft had pained my ear,
For many a pleasant hour; but soon, Alas!
So shaken was my mind by Traffic's stir,
I felt an impulse mad to shriek out loud,
As if my voice could quiet that vast crowd.

Soon saw how false that empty glitter was,
For men did drop of hunger there, and die;
There I saw many a homeless man, with death
The silver lining to his cloud - then I
Saw woolly sheep, fat cows in meadows green,
In place of such men ragged, pale and lean.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.