William Ernest Henley (Уильям Эрнст Хенли)

In Hospital. 16. House-Surgeon

Exceeding tall, but built so well his height
Half-disappears in flow of chest and limb;
Moustache and whisker trooper-like in trim;
Frank-faced, frank-eyed, frank-hearted; always bright
And always punctual—morning, noon, and night;
Bland as a Jesuit, sober as a hymn;
Humorous, and yet without a touch of whim;
Gentle and amiable, yet full of fight.
His piety, though fresh and true in strain,
Has not yet whitewashed up his common mood
To the dead blank of his particular Schism.
Sweet, unaggressive, tolerant, most humane,
Wild artists like his kindly elderhood,
And cultivate his mild Philistinism.

William Ernest Henley’s other poems:

  1. Rhymes and Rhythms. 23. Here They Trysted, Here They Strayed
  2. Rhymes and Rhythms. Epilogue
  3. Rhymes and Rhythms. 20. The Shadow of Dawn
  4. Rhymes and Rhythms. 21. When the Wind Storms by with a Shout, and the Stern Sea-Caves
  5. Echoes. 14. The Wan Sun Westers, Faint and Slow




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