Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


GROAT NOR TESTER by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE

Poet Analysis

First Line: NO GROAT FOR A SUPPER
Last Line: NOR HAD TESTER FOR A BED.

No groat for a supper,
No tester for a bed:
Ay, some poor men for taper have
The light stars shed;
And some poor men for pillow have
A mossy wayside stone,
Beneath a bough where sits and sings
The night-bird lone;
And some poor men for coverlid
Lie 'neath the mists of night --
Heavy the dew upon their breasts
At pierce of morning light;
And some poor men for valance have
Bracken whose spicy smell
Haunts the thick stillness of the dark
And brings sweet dreams as well;
And some poor men for bellman have
The farm cocks grey and red --
Who paid no groat for supper
Nor had tester for a bed.



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