Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


AT DAYBREAK by PEARL FANCOLLY HALLETT

First Line: BESIDE THE WALK / A TERRACED WALL
Last Line: AT BREAK OF DAY.
Subject(s): DECAY; SICKNESS; ROT; DECADENCE; ILLNESS;

Beside the walk
A terraced wall;
Above its ivy arras
The dark towers
Of the infirmary.

The winey odor of decaying leaves
Mingles with faint incense, diffused
From tall censers of cottonwood trees
Thinly etched with yellow foliage.

A haunting fragrance,
Distilled from the sufferings of many,
Escaped beyond the bandages and the ether
To linger as an aura
Sensed only by those
Who walk alone
At break of day.



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