Poem by William Ernest Henley

In Hospital. 23. Music

Down the quiet eve,
Thro' my window with the sunset
Pipes to me a distant organ
Foolish ditties;

And, as when you change
Pictures in a magic lantern,
Books, beds, bottles, floor, and ceiling
Fade and vanish,

And I'm well once more . . .
August flares adust and torrid,
But my heart is full of April
Sap and sweetness.

In the quiet eve
I am loitering, longing, dreaming . . .
Dreaming, and a distant organ
Pipes me ditties.

I can see the shop,
I can smell the sprinkled pavement,
Where she serves-her chestnut chignon
Thrills my senses!

O, the sight and scent,
Wistful eve and perfumed pavement!
In the distance pipes an organ . . .
The sensation

Comes to me anew,
And my spirit for a moment
Thro' the music breathes the blessed
Airs of London. 

1. In Hospital. 18. Children: Private Ward
2. In Hospital. 8. Staff-Nurse: Old Style
3. Attadale, West Highlands
4. Rhymes and Rhythms. 20. The Shadow of Dawn
5. In Hospital. 10. Staff-Nurse: New Style

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