Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE GHOSTS OF AN OLD HOUSE: THE BACK STAIRS, by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER Poet's Biography First Line: In the afternoon Last Line: But there is no one in the shadows. | ||||||||
In the afternoon When no one is in the house, I suddenly hear dull dragging feet Go fumbling down those dark back stairs, That climb up twisting, As if they wanted no one to see them. Beating a dirge upon the bare planks I hear those feet and the creak of a long-locked door. My mother often went Up and down those selfsame stairs, From the room where by the window She would sit all day and listlessly Look on the world that had destroyed her, She would go down in the evening To the room where she would sleep, Or rather, not sleep, but all night Lie staring fiercely at the ceiling. In the afternoon When no one is in the house: I suddenly hear dull dragging feet Beating out their futile tune, Up and down those dark back stairs, But there is no one in the shadows. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ARIZONA POEMS: 4. THE WINDMILLS by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER ARIZONA POEMS: 6. RAIN IN THE DESERT by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 1. EMBARKATION by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 2. HEAT by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 3. FULL MOON by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 4. THE MOON'S ORCHESTRA by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 5. THE STEVEDORES by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 6. NIGHT LANDING by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 7. THE SILENCE by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER GREEN SYMPHONY by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER |
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