A Tragedy
from The Gallery of Pigeons
1 Death!
2 Plop.
3 The barges down in the river flop.
4 Flop, plop.
5 Above, beneath.
6 From the slimy branches the grey drips drop,
7 As they scraggle black on the thin grey sky,
8 Where the black cloud rack-hackles drizzle and fly
9 To the oozy waters, that lounge and flop
10 On the black scrag piles, where the loose cords plop,
11 As the raw wind whines in the thin tree-top.
12 Plop, plop.
13 And scudding by
14 The boatmen call out hoy! and hey!
15 All is running water and sky,
16 And my head shrieks -- "Stop,"
17 And my heart shrieks -- "Die."
18 My thought is running out of my head;
19 My love is running out of my heart,
20 My soul runs after, and leaves me as dead,
21 For my life runs after to catch them -- and fled
22 They all are every one! -- and I stand, and start,
23 At the water that oozes up, plop and plop,
24 On the barges that flop
25 And dizzy me dead.
26 I might reel and drop.
27 Plop.
28 Dead.
29 And the shrill wind whines in the thin tree-top
30 Flop, plop.
31 A curse on him.
32 Ugh! yet I knew -- I knew --
33 If a woman is false can a friend be true?
34 It was only a lie from beginning to end --
35 My Devil -- My "Friend"
36 I had trusted the whole of my living to!
37 Ugh; and I knew!
38 Ugh!
39 So what do I care,
40 And my head is empty as air --
41 I can do,
42 I can dare,
43 (Plop, plop
44 The barges flop
45 Drip drop.)
46 I can dare! I can dare!
47 And let myself all run away with my head
48 And stop.
49 Drop.
50 Dead.
51 Plop, flop.
52 Plop.
Theophilus Marzials