Georgian Poetry 1913-15

English poetry -- 20th century

1. Ay, but the burning now crests the hill-tops
     In quiver of yellow flame.
  2.                        And a great smoke
     Waving and tumbling upward.
  3.                             The river now!
  4. The only place we have, not to be roasted!

Merrick:

  And what will make us water-rats or otters,
  To keep our breath still living through a dive
  That lasts until the earth's burnt out? Or how
  Would that trick serve, when we stand up to gasp,
  And find the star waiting for our plunged heads
  To knock them into pummy?

Vine:

                   Scarce more dazed
  I'ld be with that than now. I shall be bound,
  When I'm to give my wife the tale of it all,
  To be devising: more of this to-do
  My mind won't carry.

Huff:

          O ashamed I am,
  Ashamed!--It needn't have been downright feats,
  Such as the braving men, the like of Shale,
  Do easily, and smile, keeping them up.
  If I could look back to one manful hour
  Of romping in the face of all my goodness!--

[SHALE comes in, dragging Mrs HUFF by the hand.]

Shale:

  Huff! Where's Huff?--Huff, you must take her back!
  You'll take her back? She's yours: I give her up.

Merrick:

  Belike here's something bold again.

Mrs Huff (to SHALE):

          Once more,
  Listen.

Shale:

      I will not listen. There's no time
  For aught but giving you back where you belong;
  And that's with you, Huff. Take her.

Huff:

                              Here is depth
  I cannot see to. Is it your last fling?--
  The dolt I am in these things!--What's this way
  You've found of living wickedly to the end?

Shale:

  Scorn as you please, but take her back, man, take her.

Huff:

  But she's my wife! Take her back now? What for?

Mrs Huff:

  What for? Have you not known of thieves that throw
  Their robbery down, soon as they hear a step
  Sounding behind them on the road, and run
  A long way off, and pull an honest face?
  Ay, see Shale's eyes practising baby-looks!
  He never stole, not he!

Shale:

  Don't hear her talk.

Mrs Huff:

  But he was a talker once! Love was the thing;
  And love, he swore, would make the wrong go right,
  And Huff was a kind of devil--and that's true----

Huff:

  What? I've been devilish and never knew?

Mrs Huff:

  The devil in the world that hates all love.
  But Shale said, he'd the love in him would hold
  If the world's frame and the fate of men were crackt.

Shale:

  What I said!
  Whoever thought the world was going to crack?

Mrs Huff:

And now he hears someone move behind him.--
They'll say, perhaps, 'You stole this!'--Down it goes,
Thrown to the dirty road--thrown to Huff!

Shale:

  Yes, to the owner.

Mrs Huff:

       It was not such brave thieving.
  You did not take me from my owner, Shale:
  There's an old robber will do that some day,
  Not you.

Vine:

  Were you thinking of me then, missis?

Mrs Huff (still to SHALE):

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

General

Georgian Poetry 1913-15

English poetry -- 20th century

1. Ay, but the burning now crests the hill-tops
     In quiver of yellow flame.
  2.                        And a great smoke
     Waving and tumbling upward.
  3.                             The river now!
  4. The only place we have, not to be roasted!

Merrick:

  And what will make us water-rats or otters,
  To keep our breath still living through a dive
  That lasts until the earth's burnt out? Or how
  Would that trick serve, when we stand up to gasp,
  And find the star waiting for our plunged heads
  To knock them into pummy?

Vine:

                   Scarce more dazed
  I'ld be with that than now. I shall be bound,
  When I'm to give my wife the tale of it all,
  To be devising: more of this to-do
  My mind won't carry.

Huff:

          O ashamed I am,
  Ashamed!--It needn't have been downright feats,
  Such as the braving men, the like of Shale,
  Do easily, and smile, keeping them up.
  If I could look back to one manful hour
  Of romping in the face of all my goodness!--

[SHALE comes in, dragging Mrs HUFF by the hand.]

Shale:

  Huff! Where's Huff?--Huff, you must take her back!
  You'll take her back? She's yours: I give her up.

Merrick:

  Belike here's something bold again.

Mrs Huff (to SHALE):

          Once more,
  Listen.

Shale:

      I will not listen. There's no time
  For aught but giving you back where you belong;
  And that's with you, Huff. Take her.

Huff:

                              Here is depth
  I cannot see to. Is it your last fling?--
  The dolt I am in these things!--What's this way
  You've found of living wickedly to the end?

Shale:

  Scorn as you please, but take her back, man, take her.

Huff:

  But she's my wife! Take her back now? What for?

Mrs Huff:

  What for? Have you not known of thieves that throw
  Their robbery down, soon as they hear a step
  Sounding behind them on the road, and run
  A long way off, and pull an honest face?
  Ay, see Shale's eyes practising baby-looks!
  He never stole, not he!

Shale:

  Don't hear her talk.

Mrs Huff:

  But he was a talker once! Love was the thing;
  And love, he swore, would make the wrong go right,
  And Huff was a kind of devil--and that's true----

Huff:

  What? I've been devilish and never knew?

Mrs Huff:

  The devil in the world that hates all love.
  But Shale said, he'd the love in him would hold
  If the world's frame and the fate of men were crackt.

Shale:

  What I said!
  Whoever thought the world was going to crack?

Mrs Huff:

And now he hears someone move behind him.--
They'll say, perhaps, 'You stole this!'--Down it goes,
Thrown to the dirty road--thrown to Huff!

Shale:

  Yes, to the owner.

Mrs Huff:

       It was not such brave thieving.
  You did not take me from my owner, Shale:
  There's an old robber will do that some day,
  Not you.

Vine:

  Were you thinking of me then, missis?

Mrs Huff (still to SHALE):

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Georgian Poetry 1913-15

Georgian Poetry 1913-15

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