W. V. Her Book and Various Verses By William Canton ... With Two Illustrations by C. E. Brock |
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 | Vignettes |
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 | W. V. Her Book and Various Verses |  |
125
Vignettes
127
The Wanderer II
He knows no home; he only knows
Hunger and cold and pain;
The four winds are his bedfellows;
His sleep is dashed with rain.
Hunger and cold and pain;
The four winds are his bedfellows;
His sleep is dashed with rain.
'Tis nought to him who fails, who thrives;
He neither hopes nor fears;
Some dim primeval impulse drives
His footsteps down the years.
He neither hopes nor fears;
Some dim primeval impulse drives
His footsteps down the years.
129
He could not, if he would, forsake
Lone road and field and tree.
Yet, think! it takes a God to make
E'en such a waif as he.
Lone road and field and tree.
Yet, think! it takes a God to make
E'en such a waif as he.
And once a maiden, asked for bread,
Saw, as she gave her dole,
No friendless vagrant, but, instead,
An indefeasible Soul.
Saw, as she gave her dole,
No friendless vagrant, but, instead,
An indefeasible Soul.
130
Sea-Pictures II
Enormous sea; immeasurable night!
The shoreless waters, heaving spectral-white,
Vibrate with showers and chains of golden sparks.
The shoreless waters, heaving spectral-white,
Vibrate with showers and chains of golden sparks.
The black boat leaves a track of flame. Beneath
Run trails of blazing emerald, where the sharks
Cross and re-cross. In many a starry wreath
Innumerable medusæ shine and float.
Run trails of blazing emerald, where the sharks
Cross and re-cross. In many a starry wreath
Innumerable medusæ shine and float.
139
Great luminaries, through the blue-green air,
Gleam on the face of one who slowly dies.
All through the night two cavernous glazed eyes
Look blankly upward in a rigid stare.
Gleam on the face of one who slowly dies.
All through the night two cavernous glazed eyes
Look blankly upward in a rigid stare.
O Father in heaven, he cannot speak Thy name;
Take pity for the sake of Christ, Thy son!
Take pity for the sake of Christ, Thy son!
There is no answer, none. No answer, none.
Crossing, re-crossing underneath the boat,
The lean sharks weave their web of emerald flame.
The lean sharks weave their web of emerald flame.
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