Classic Poem

Ode 1.22

COLLABORATE UPON IT

It is late, says Fenris, and the evening trembles
Like jelly placed upon an old man's table.
It is late, he says, and I am scarcely able
To keep my collar up, attend the latest play,
Mumble stale gossip; cough and turn away;
Grope in confusion down an endless hall.
The evening drags … and why should I dissemble?
I am tired, I tell you, tired of it all …
The heavy dawns, the dying fall
Of music ending in a cloud of gray.
Virtue is ashes; mist and fog
Cover the worm-eaten trees. A block away
Some one is singing tunes to a mangy dog.
A thin light tops the sky like a moldy crust.
And should I read a paper, smoke a pipe,
While the full moon hangs like an overripe
Pippin upon the rotted branch of day?
Twilight and sodden rain … boredom and lust …
It is like a piece I used to play …
What were the lines? … I dream … I cannot say …
The harlot's laugh has a coating of rust …
There was a bow … and javelins … some one said
Juba … or was it Lalage … I forget.
I am tired, I tell you, tired … and yet
How shall I force the ineffectual crisis?
The air is poisoned with a delicate regret.
In the Copley-Plaza men are serving ices.
I fidget in my seat, pull down my vest:
Adjust my new cravat and chatter, while
Death slides among the dancers, strokes a breast,
Rattles the xylophone, slinks down the hall
And pares an apple with a weary smile.
The music twists and curves … an alley cat
Adds its high tenor; wan, malignant, flat.
A siren echoes … Can I have no rest?
For I am tired … tired of the strident brawl …
Tired of ennui … tired of it all …
Silence is better than the twice-expressed.
In countless volumes new leaves turn and fall …
I have seen them all … I have seen them all.English