THE morn broke bright: the thronging people wore Their best; but in the general face I saw No touch of veneration or of awe. Christ's natal day? 'Twas merely one day more On which the mart agreed to close its door; A lounging-time by usage and by law Sanctioned; nor recked they, beyond this, one straw Of any meaning which for man it bore! Fated among Time's fallen leaves to stray, We breathe an air that savours of the tomb, Heavy with dissolution and decay; Waiting till some new world-emotion rise, And with the might of the unchained simoom Sweep hence this dying Past that never dies. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LOVER PLEADS WITH HIS FRIENDS FOR OLD FRIENDS by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS EPITAPH; INSCRIPTION FOR A MONUMENT ERECTED BY GENTLEMAN FOR HIS LADY by JAMES BEATTIE SHADOWS OF CRIME by LEVI BISHOP |