House-surgeon

William Ernest Henley

Exceeding tall, but built so well his height
Half-disappears in flow of chest and limb;
Moustache and whisker trooper-like in trim;
Frank-faced, frank-eyed, frank-hearted; always bright
And always punctual—morning, noon, and night;
Bland as a Jesuit, sober as a hymn;
Humorous, and yet without a touch of whim;
Gentle and amiable, yet full of fight.
His piety, though fresh and true in strain,
Has not yet whitewashed up his common mood
To the dead blank of his particular Schism.
Sweet, unaggressive, tolerant, most humane,
Wild artists like his kindly elderhood,
And cultivate his mild Philistinism.

Next 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : I Am The Reaper
• William Ernest Henley : I Gave My Heart To A Woman
• William Ernest Henley : I. M. R. G. C. B. 1878
• William Ernest Henley : I. M.-margaret Emma Henley ( 1888-1894 )
• William Ernest Henley : I. M.-margaritae Sorori
• William Ernest Henley : I. M.-r. L. S. ( 1850-1894 )
• William Ernest Henley : If It Should Come To Be
• William Ernest Henley : In Fisherrow
• William Ernest Henley : In The Dials
• William Ernest Henley : In The Placid Summer Midnight

Previous 10 Poems

• William Ernest Henley : Gulls In An Aery Morrice
• William Ernest Henley : Grave
• William Ernest Henley : From A Window In Princes Street
• William Ernest Henley : Friends . . . Old Friends . . .
• William Ernest Henley : Fill A Glass With Golden Wine
• William Ernest Henley : Etching
• William Ernest Henley : Envoy-to Charles Baxter
• William Ernest Henley : Enter Patient
• William Ernest Henley : England, My England
• William Ernest Henley : Double Ballade Of The Nothingness Of Things