Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN FISHERROW, by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN FISHERROW, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: A hard north-easter fifty winters long
Last Line: Reproachful, with a strange and doleful cry.
Alternate Author Name(s): Henley, W. E.
Subject(s): Old Age; Women


A hard north-easter fifty winters long
Has bronzed and shrivelled sere her face and neck;
Her locks are wild and grey, her teeth a wreck;
Her foot is vast, her bowed legs spare and strong.
A wide blue cloak, a squat and sturdy throng
Of curt blue coats, a mutch without a speck,
A white vest broidered black, her person deck,
Nor seems their picked, stern, old-world quaintness wrong.
Her great creel forehead-slung, she wanders neigh,
Easing the heavy strap with gnarled, brown fingers,
The spirit of traffic watchful in her eye,
Ever and anon imploring you to buy,
As looking down the street she onward lingers,
Reproachful, with a strange and doleful cry.





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