Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LATE, by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LATE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Three small men in a small house
Last Line: One stirred in his sleep and said.
Alternate Author Name(s): Ramal, Walter; De La Mare, Walter


Three small men in a small house,
And none to hear them say,
'One for his nob,' and 'One for his noddle,'
And 'One for his dumb dog Stray!'
'Clubs are trumps -- and he's dealt and bluffed':
'And Jack of diamonds led':
'And perhaps the cullie has dropped a shoe;
He tarries so late,' they said.

Three small men in a small house,
And one small empty chair,
One with his moleskin over his brows,
One with his crany bare,
And one with a dismal cast in his eye,
Rocking a heavy head. . .
'And perhaps the cullie's at The Wide World's End;
He tarries so late,' they said.

Three small men in a small house,
And a candle guttering low,
One with his cheek on the ace of spades,
And two on the boards below.
And a window black 'gainst a waste of stars,
And a moon five dark nights dead. . .
'Who's that a-knocking and a-knocking and a-knocking?'
One stirred in his sleep and said.





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