William Ernest Henley (Уильям Эрнст Хенли)
In Hospital. 4. Before
Behold me waiting—waiting for the knife. A little while, and at a leap I storm The thick, sweet mystery of chloroform, The drunken dark, the little death-in-life. The gods are good to me: I have no wife, No innocent child, to think of as I near The fateful minute; nothing all-too dear Unmans me for my bout of passive strife. Yet am I tremulous and a trifle sick, And, face to face with chance, I shrink a little: My hopes are strong, my will is something weak. Here comes the basket? Thank you. I am ready. But, gentlemen my porters, life is brittle: You carry Caesar and his fortunes—steady!
William Ernest Henley’s other poems:
- Rhymes and Rhythms. 23. Here They Trysted, Here They Strayed
- Rhymes and Rhythms. Epilogue
- Rhymes and Rhythms. 20. The Shadow of Dawn
- Rhymes and Rhythms. 21. When the Wind Storms by with a Shout, and the Stern Sea-Caves
- In Hospital. 12. Etching
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