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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


AS IN A PICTURE by LEWIS MORRIS (1833-1907)

First Line: WHITE, ON A CLIFF THEY STOOD
Last Line: "OH, LORD OF QUICK AND DEAD!"

WHITE, on a cliff they stood;
Beyond, a cypress wood.

Three there were -- one who wept,
And one as though he slept;

One with wide steadfast eyes
Fixed in a sad surprise.

Day, like a dying hymn,
Grew gradually dim.

A solitary star
Gleamed on them from afar.

Beneath, by sand and cave
Sobbed the continual wave.

Long time in reverent thought
Who these might be I sought,

Then suddenly I said,
"Oh, Lord of quick and dead!"



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