Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE OLD CLOCK, by JOHN CHARLES MCNEILL


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OLD CLOCK, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: All day low clouds and slanting rain
Last Line: Nic-noc, nic-noc, nic-noc!
Subject(s): Clocks; Time


All day low clouds and slanting rain
Have swept the woods and dimmed the plain.
Wet winds have swayed the birch and oak,
And caught and swirled away the smoke,
But, all day long, the wooden clock
Went on, Nic-noc, nic-noc.

When deep at night I wake with fear,
And shudder in the dark to hear
The roaring storm's unguided strength,
Peace steals into my heart at length,
When, calm amid the shout and shock,
I hear, Nic-noc, nic-noc.

And all the winter long 't is I
Who bless its sheer monotony --
Its scorn of days, which cares no whit
For time, except to measure it:
The prosy, dozy, cosy clock,
Nic-noc, nic-noc, nic-noc!







Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net