Poems (Henley)/Music

by William Ernest Henley

XXIII MUSIC

Down the quiet eve,Thro' my window with the sunsetPipes to me a distant organFoolish ditties;

And, as when you changePictures in a magic lantern,Books, beds, bottles, floor, and ceilingFade and vanish,

And I'm well once more. . . .August flares adust and torrid,But my heart is full of AprilSap and sweetness.

In the quiet eveI am loitering, longing, dreaming . . .Dreaming, and a distant organPipes me ditties.

I can see the shop,I can smell the sprinkled pavement,Where she serves—her chestnut chignonThrills my senses!

O, the sight and scent,Wistful eve and perfumed pavement!In the distance pipes an organ . . .The sensation

Comes to me anew,And my spirit for a momentThro' the music breathes the blessedAirs of London.