The House of Hospitalities

Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)



Here we broached the Christmas barrel,
Pushed up the charred log-ends;
Here we sang the Christmas carol,
And called in friends.

Time has tired me since we met here
When the folk now dead were young,
And the viands were outset here
And quaint songs sung.

And the worm has bored the viol
That used to lead the tune,
Rust eaten out the dial
That struck night's noon.

Now no Christmas brings in neighbours,
And the New Year comes unlit;
Where we sang the mole now labours,
And spiders knit.

Yet at midnight if here walking,
When the moon sheets wall and tree,
I see forms of old time talking,
Who smile on me.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
72

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD AEAE BFBF GHGH
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 594
Words 116
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy, was not a Scottish Minister, not a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland nor a Professor of Eccesiastical History at Edinburgh University. more…

All Thomas Hardy poems | Thomas Hardy Books

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