PERMISSION

Not till, fallen swooning at the last

Round, heart-broken at the cruel pace,

Thrown out useless from my working place

Sickness, scorn, and bitterness to taste,

Not till hard days have me crucified

To a desk, the close nights to a bed

Comfortless, and all my gain unmade,

All the towers brought low that were my pride,

May I seek the silent golden tor,

Sleep beside long crumbled architraves,

See the desolate glory of the waves

Snarling, like tigers on a lone lee shore.

Oxford poetry, 1918 · 第 57 / 63 题