The evenfall, so slow on hills, hath shot
Far down into the valley’s cold extreme,
Untimely midnight; spire and roof and stream
Like fleeing spectres, shudder and are not.
The Hampstead hollies, from their sylvan plot
Yet cloudless, lean to watch as in a dream,
From chaos climb with many a sudden gleam,
London, one moment fallen and forgot.
Her booths begin to flare; and gases bright
Prick door and window; all her streets obscure
Sparkle and swarm with nothing true or sure,
Full as a marsh of mist and winking light;
Heaven thickens over, Heaven that cannot cure
Her tear by day, her fevered smile by night.
(Louise Imogen Guiney)
More Poetry from Louise Imogen Guiney:
Louise Imogen Guiney Poems based on Topics: Dreams, Light, Night, Heaven- Peter Rugg the Bostonian (Louise Imogen Guiney Poems)
- Ode for a Master Mariner Ashore (Louise Imogen Guiney Poems)
- A Footnote to a Famous Lyric (Louise Imogen Guiney Poems)
- The Wild Ride (Louise Imogen Guiney Poems)
- A Friend's Song for Simoisius (Louise Imogen Guiney Poems)
- A Footnote to a Famous Lyric (Louise Imogen Guiney Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Light Poems, Heaven Poems, Dreams PoemsBased on Keywords: booths, evenfall, hollies, gases, hampstead