Poem by William Watson

World-Strangeness

Strange the world about me lies,
  Never yet familiar grown—
Still disturbs me with surprise,
  Haunts me like a face half known.

In this house with starry dome,
  Floored with gemlike plains and seas,
Shall I never feel at home,
  Never wholly be at ease?

On from room to room I stray,
  Yet my Host can ne'er espy,
And I know not to this day
  Whether guest or captive I.

So, between the starry dome
  And the floor of plains and seas,
I have never felt at home,
  Never wholly been at ease.

1. On Landor's “Hellenics”
2. Mensis Lacrimarum
3. In Laleham Churchyard
4. Nay, Bid Me Not My Cares to Leave
5. Sketch of a Political Character

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