 | The Comrades |  |
148
The Haunted Bridge
With high-pitched arch, low parapet,
And narrow thoroughfare, it stands
As strong as when the mortar set
Beneath the Roman mason's hands.
And narrow thoroughfare, it stands
As strong as when the mortar set
Beneath the Roman mason's hands.
An ancient ivy grips its walls,
Tall grasses tuft its coping-stones;
Beneath, through citron shadow, falls
The stream in drowsy undertones.
Tall grasses tuft its coping-stones;
Beneath, through citron shadow, falls
The stream in drowsy undertones.
No road leads hence. The stonechat flits
Along green fallow grey with stone;
But here a dark-eyed urchin sits,
To whom the Painted Men were known.
Along green fallow grey with stone;
But here a dark-eyed urchin sits,
To whom the Painted Men were known.
149
Hush! do not move, but only look.
When sunny days are long and fine
This Roman truant baits a hook,
Drops o'er the keystone here a line,
When sunny days are long and fine
This Roman truant baits a hook,
Drops o'er the keystone here a line,
And, dangling sandalled feet, looks down
To see the swift trout dart and gleam—
Or scarcely see them, hanging brown
With heads against the clear brown stream.
To see the swift trout dart and gleam—
Or scarcely see them, hanging brown
With heads against the clear brown stream.
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