Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE DEN, by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE DEN, by                 Poet Analysis    
First Line: They sleep together in one den
Last Line: Came here to die, not sleep -- the swine!'
Alternate Author Name(s): Davies, W. H.
Subject(s): Death; Dead, The


They sleep together in one den,
Ten in a row -- ten beds, ten men;
Three dying men are in that room,
Whose coughs at night will soon become
Death's rattle: drunkards in bed
Sound as they worried things half dead.

Jim Lasker dreamt, when in that den,
He saw ten beds that had ten men;
One sleeper in a sack was sewn,
With nothing of his features shown:
Jim felt that face he could not see --
'This face is mine, I'm dead,' said he.

. . . . . .

'James Lasker, you're the last to rise;
Wake up, wake up!' the master cries.
'You've not paid me for daylight's sleep --
Suppose you had some kids to keep?
Ah, now I see: this man of mine
Came here to die, not sleep -- the swine!'





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