Collected poems, 1901-1918/Echo

by Walter De la Mare

ECHO

"Who called?" I said, and the words
Through the whispering glades,
Hither, thither, baffled the birds —
"Who called? Who called?"

The leafy boughs on high
Hissed in the sun;
The dark air carried my cry
Faintingly on:

Eyes in the green, in the shade,
In the motionless brake,
Voices that said what I said,
For mockery's sake:

"Who cares?" I bawled through my tears;
The wind fell low:
In the silence, "Who cares? who cares?"
Wailed to and fro.