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1840–1928

ON THE WAY

Thomas Hardy

The trees fret fitfully and twist, Shutters rattle and carpets heave, Slime is the dust of yestereve, And in the streaming mist

Fishes might seem to fin a passage if they list. But to his feet, Drawing nigh and nigher A hidden seat,

The fog is sweet And the wind a lyre. A vacant sameness grays the sky, A moisture gathers on each knop

Of the bramble, rounding to a drop, That greets the goer-by With the cold listless lustre of a dead man's eye. But to her sight,

Drawing nigh and nigher Its deep delight, The fog is bright And the wind a lyre.

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ON THE WAY · Thomas Hardy · Poetry Cove