Beneath this pavement here, once grasses grew, And pliant saplings gently whipped the breeze; Here flowers bloomed, and vines made filigrees, Here loamy earth was decked with glistening dew. Where pompous buildings make an avenue Once echoed rumbling ariettes of bees, And mocking birds sang out their reveilles; Here rabbits played, and wary field mice, too. Where street cars lurch, and automobiles pass Once was a brook, where I was wont to dream, And while away long hours upon the grass While thinking on some vague, ambitious scheme. Now, here the earth is hard, and cold as glass, As if, in darksome fury, men blaspheme. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SOLUTIONS by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN A BOY'S MOTHER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY FIDELITY by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH THE MORAL FABLES: THE MOUSE AND THE PADDOCK by AESOP HERACLES AND MELEAGER by BACCHYLIDES THE BIRD FANCIER by WILLIAM ROSE BENET PERFECTED by LOUISA SARAH BEVINGTON A QUARTET ('THE MIKADO' AT CAMBRIDGE) by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |