Composed Near Calais, On The Road Leading To Ardres, August 7, 1802

  1. Poetry
  2. Poets
  3. William Wordsworth
  4. Composed Near Calais, On The Road Leading To Ardres, August 7, 1802

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Poem

JONES! as from Calais southward you and I
Went pacing side by side, this public Way
Streamed with the pomp of a too-credulous day,
When faith was pledged to new-born Liberty:
A homeless sound of joy was in the sky:
From hour to hour the antiquated Earth
Beat like the heart of Man: songs, garlands, mirth,
Banners, and happy faces, far and nigh!
And now, sole register that these things were,
Two solitary greetings have I heard,
‘Good-morrow, Citizen!’ a hollow word,
As if a dead man spake it! Yet despair
Touches me not, though pensive as a bird
Whose vernal coverts winter hath laid bare.

Previous Poem
Composed During A Storm
Next Poem
Composed While The Author Was Engaged In Writing A Tract Occasioned By The Convention Of Cintra