Lord Alfred Tennyson

The Deserted House

Life and Thought have gone away
Side by side,
Leaving door and windows wide.
Careless tenants they!
 
All within is dark as night:
In the windows is no light;
And no murmur at the door,
So frequent on its hinge before.
 
Close the door; the shutters close;
Or through the windows we shall see
The nakedness and vacancy
Of the dark deserted house.
 
Come away: no more of mirth
Is here or merry-making sound.
The house was builded of the earth,
And shall fall again to ground.
 
Come away: for Life and Thought
Here no longer dwell;
But in a city glorious -
A great and distant city –have bought
A mansion incorruptible.
Would they could have stayed with us!
Other works by Lord Alfred Tennyson...



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