MRS. MACQUEEN ( OR THE LOLLIE-SHOP )

By Walter de la Mare

2026-05-02

With glass like a bull's-eye,

And shutters of green,

Down on the cobbles

Lives Mrs. MacQueen,

At six she rises;

At nine you see

Her candle shine out

In the linden tree:

And at half-past nine

Not a sound is nigh

But the bright moon's creeping

Across the sky;

Or a far dog baying;

Or a twittering bird

In its drowsy nest,

In the darkness stirred;

Or like the roar

Of a distant sea

A long-drawn S-s-sh

In the linden tree.