The Winding Stair — At Algeciras—a Meditation upon Death
| The heron-billed pale cattle-birds |
| That feed on some foul parasite |
| Of the Moroccan flocks and herds |
| Cross the narrow Straits to light |
| In the rich midnight of the garden trees |
| Till the dawn break upon those
mingled seas. |
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| Often at evening when a boy |
| Would I carry to a friend— |
| Hoping more substantial joy |
| Did
an older mind commend— |
| Not such as are in Newton’s metaphor, |
| But actual shells of Rosses’ level
shore. |
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| Greater glory in the sun, |
| An evening chill upon the air, |
| Bid imagination run |
| Much on the Great
Questioner; |
| What He can question, what if questioned I |
| Can with a fitting confidence reply. |
| November
1928 |