Pain gnaws at my heart like a rat that gnaws at a beam In the dusty dark of a ghost-frequented house; And I dream of the days forgotten, of love the dream, The desire of her eyes unappeased, and the peace of her brows. I can hear the old rat gnaw in the dark by night, In the deep overshadowing dust that the years have cast; He gnaws at my heart that is empty of all delight, He stirs the dust where the feet of my dreams had passed. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GATHERING SONG OF DONALD [OR, DONUI DHU] THE BLACK by WALTER SCOTT SYSTEM by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON A BALLAD OF LIFE by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE A WINTRY LULLABY by LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA LETTER TO B.W. PROCTOR, ESQ., FROM OXFORD; MAY, 1825 by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES TWO ARGOSIES (ANTONIO'S AND SHAKESPEARE'S) by WALLACE BRUCE AN HYMENAL SONG, ON THE NUPTIALS OF ANNE WENTWORTH AND LORD LOVELACE by THOMAS CAREW BALLAD TO THE TUNE - 'I WOULD GIVE TWENTY POUND' by PATRICK CAREY |