As with varnish red and glistening, Dripped his hair; his feet looked rigid; Raised, he settled stiffly sideways: You could see his hurts were spinal. He had fallen from an engine, And had been dragged along the metals. It was hopeless, and they knew it; So they covered him, and left him. As he lay, by fits half-sentient, Inarticulately moaning, With his stockinged soles protruded Stark and awkward from the blankets, To his bed there came a woman, Stood and looked and sighed a little, And departed without speaking, As himself a few hours after. I was told it was his sweetheart. They were on the eve of marriage. She was quiet as a statue, But her lip was grey and writhen. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FAITH AND DESPONDENCY by EMILY JANE BRONTE POST-MORTEM by EMILY DICKINSON UPON HIS DEPARTURE HENCE by ROBERT HERRICK ECHO by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI VERSES FROM THE 'ANNALIA DUBRENSIA' by WILLIAM BASSE |