I.
Birds find their longings in the eaves;
Bats have their homes in sewer and drain;
Torpid, beneath the last year’s leaves.
The unmolested snakes remain;
The little dormouse in her cell,
Dug deep in root of forest oak,
Has slept since first the snow-flakes fell,-
Secure.-and has not once awoke.
But Women and Men, i’ the frozen street,
Are houseless — houseless every night;
And children, till the cold, grey light,
Trample the town with weary feet.
II.
Deeper than frost, beneath the mould,
Pierces its way the garden worm;
The snail withdraws its horns from the cold;
The ant in her nest keeps winter-term;
Green-backed beetle, and slimy slug,
And speckled eft, have quarters warm;
The woodlouse under the bark is mug;
The earwig takes no wintry harm.
But Women and men, i’ the frozen street,
Are houseless — houseless every night;
And children, till the cold, grey light,
Trample the town with weary feet.
III.
Many legged creatures, and those with wings,-
Hum-drum hornet, and toiling bee,-
All the rare and beautiful things
Of insect-life, that on earth we see,-
All the repulsive shapes that creep,-
All the rejoicing things that fly,-
Are laid in warm rest, fast asleep:
None are exposed to the cutting sky,
But Women and Men, i’the frozen street,
Are houseless — houseless every night;
And children, till the cold, grey light,
Trample the town with weary feet.
(Edward Youl)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Night Poems, Light Poems, Birds Poems, Children Poems, Garden PoemsBased on Keywords: houseless, hornet, repulsive, slug, eft, sewer, unmolested, snow-flakes, legged, dormouse, earwig