Ooo. Another pome!

[bcholmes]

I just discovered this poem tonight:

WALTER DE LA MARE
Tells His Listeners About Jack and Jill.

Up to the top of the haunted turf
   They climbed on the moonlit hill.
Not a leaf rustled in the underbrush;
   The listening air was still.

And only the noise of the water pail
   As it struck on a jutting stone,
Clattered and jarred against the silence
   As the two trod on alone.

Up to the moonlit crest they went;
   And though, not a word would they say,
Their thoughts outnumbered a poet's love-songs
   In the first green weeks of May.

The stealthy shadows crept closer,
   They clutched at the hem of Jill's gown;
And there at the very top she stumbled,
   And Jack came shuddering down.

Their cries rang out against the stillness,
   Pitiful and high and thin.
And the echoes edged back still further
   As the silence gathered them in.

I was originally going to post Walter de la Mare's "The Listeners" as my contribution to the poetry meme, but decided against it. But I stumbled upon this poem while doing some Googling. I think it's brilliant, but you'd probably hafta know "The Listeners" to appreciate it.