Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, COLORS, by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET



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First Line: The little man with the vague beard and guise
Last Line: "we're selling that lot there out cheap!"" said he."
Subject(s): Colors


(For D. M. C.)



The little man with the vague beard and guise
Pulled at the wicket. "Come inside!" he said,
"I'll show you all we've got now -- it was size
You wanted? -- oh, dry colors! Well" -- he led
To a dim alley lined with musty bins,
And pulled one fiercely. Violent and bold
A sudden tempest of mad, shrieking sins
Scarlet screamed out above the battered gold
Of tins and picture-frames. I held my breath.
He tugged another hard -- and sapphire skies
Spread in vast quietude, serene as death,
O'er waves like crackled turquoise -- and my eyes
Burnt with the blinding brilliance of calm sea!
"We're selling that lot there out cheap!" said he.








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