Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE TAXI, by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE TAXI, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: When I go away from you
Last Line: Meterless verse.
Alternate Author Name(s): F. P. A.
Subject(s): Farewell; Taxis; Parting


When I go away from you
The world beats dead
Like a slackened drum.
I call out for you against the jutted stars.
And shout into the ridges of the wind.
Streets coming fast,
One after the other,
Wedge you away from me,
And the lamps of the city prick my eyes
So that I can no longer see your face.
Why should I leave you,
To wound myself against the sharp edges of the night?
—Amy Lowell in The Egoist.

When I went away from you
The world beat dead
Like a banjo stringless.
Heard I you call against the stars,
And the rest of it.
But I had to go.
For I read the mounting meter of the cab and it appalled me,
Frightened me.
Any meter terrifies me, if you know what I mean.
There ought to be meterless cabs,
Just as
There is
Meterless verse.





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