William Ernest Henley (Уильям Эрнст Хенли)

In Hospital. 6. After

Like as a flamelet blanketed in smoke,
So through the anaesthetic shows my life;
So flashes and so fades my thought, at strife
With the strong stupor that I heave and choke
And sicken at, it is so foully sweet.
Faces look strange from space-and disappear.
Far voices, sudden loud, offend my ear -
And hush as sudden. Then my senses fleet:
All were a blank, save for this dull, new pain
That grinds my leg and foot; and brokenly
Time and the place glimpse on to me again;
And, unsurprised, out of uncertainty,
I wake-relapsing-somewhat faint and fain,
To an immense, complacent dreamery. 

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. In Hospital. 12. Etching

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