Tired And Unhappy, You Think Of Houses

Delmore Schwartz

Tired and unhappy, you think of houses
Soft-carpeted and warm in the December evening,
While snow’s white pieces fall past the window,
And the orange firelight leaps.
            A young girl sings
That song of Gluck where Orpheus pleads with Death;
Her elders watch, nodding their happiness
To see time fresh again in her self-conscious eyes:
The servants bring in the coffee, the children go to bed,
Elder and younger yawn and go to bed,
The coals fade and glow, rose and ashen,
It is time to shake yourself! and break this
Banal dream, and turn your head
Where the underground is charged, where the weight
Of the lean building is seen,
Where close in the subway rush, anonymous
In the audience, well-dressed or mean,
So many surround you, ringing your fate,
Caught in an anger exact as a machine!

Next 10 Poems

• Delmore Schwartz : To Helen
• Delmore Schwartz : Two Lyrics From Kilroy's Carnival: A Masque
• Delmore Schwartz : What Curious Dresses All Men Wear
• Delmore Schwartz : What Is To Be Given
• Delmore Schwartz : Words For A Trumpet Chorale Celebrating The Autumn
• Delmore Schwartz : Yeats Died Saturday In France
• Sir Walter Scott : Answer
• Sir Walter Scott : Brignall Banks
• Sir Walter Scott : Christmas In The Olden Time
• Sir Walter Scott : Coronach

Previous 10 Poems

• Delmore Schwartz : This Is A Poem I Wrote At Night, Before The Dawn
• Delmore Schwartz : The Spring
• Delmore Schwartz : The Sin Of Hamlet
• Delmore Schwartz : The Poet
• Delmore Schwartz : The Journey Of A Poem Compared To All The Sad Variety Of Travel
• Delmore Schwartz : The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me
• Delmore Schwartz : The Greatest Thing In North America
• Delmore Schwartz : The First Night Of Fall And Falling Rain
• Delmore Schwartz : The Choir And Music Of Solitude And Silence
• Delmore Schwartz : The Beautiful American Word, Sure