Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CHIMNEY-SWEEP, by CALE YOUNG RICE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CHIMNEY-SWEEP, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Fallen leaves skitter fleet
Last Line: And ever clean the house of woe!
Subject(s): Chimney Sweepers And Chimneys; Life; Love; Moon; Time


Fallen leaves skitter fleet
And elf-like down the street.
Winds have blown the moon awry,
It hangs a half-thing in the sky;
A sorry chimney-pot thing,
Sooty silver in a ring.
Time, the sweep, has brushed away
Half of it.... Alack-a-day!
Nothing's safe from the doom
Of Time's broom.

Nothing -- neither love nor life,
Not friend, not wife!
Time, ruthless chimney-sweep,
Smudges all we would keep.
After him we must go
And ever clean the house of woe!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net