Waiting

William Ernest Henley 1849 (Gloucester) – 1903 (Woking)



A square, squat room (a cellar on promotion),
Drab to the soul, drab to the very daylight;
Plasters astray in unnatural-looking tinware;
Scissors and lint and apothecary's jars.

Here, on a bench a skeleton would writhe from,
Angry and sore, I wait to be admitted:
Wait till my heart is lead upon my stomach,
While at their ease two dressers do their chores.

One has a probe-it feels to me a crowbar.
A small boy sniffs and shudders after bluestone.
A poor old tramp explains his poor old ulcers.
Life is (I think) a blunder and a shame.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 06, 2023

30 sec read
226

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAX XXXX AXXX
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 533
Words 100
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley was an English poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875 poem "Invictus". more…

All William Ernest Henley poems | William Ernest Henley Books

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