Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE TRAMP, by ROSALIND TRAVERS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE TRAMP, by                    
First Line: I have turned my face away from the city
Last Line: Away from sight and life; o, take me in!
Subject(s): Alienation (social Psychology); Cities; Estrangement; Outcasts; Urban Life


I HAVE turned my face away from the City,
The careless, glittering, woeful City,
Full of laughter, cries and toil,
To the long, pale road, the bare and sleeping trees,
The fields and Mother Earth again.
Mother, O mother, let me in!

There is nothing before me but night and stars;
It is strange to be alone with the stars!
It was dreadful, alone with men.
The stars look down—men turn their eyes away
From me, who have no friend but Earth.
Mother, O mother, let me in!

Am I far enough from the City yet?
She burns and breathes on the sky-line yet;
Long trains flare through the night.
But here I smell the pure and rain-washed earth;
A little earth, a narrow field.
Mother, O mother, let me in!

I have grown almost too weary to die;
For 'tis no easy thing to die;
I have seen men struggle and strive.
O dark, clean Earth, fold me with heavy arms
Away from sight and life; O, take me in!





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