PASTIME.

A boat amid the ripples, drifting, rocking,

Two idle people, without pause or aim;

While in the ominous west there gathers darkness

Flushed with flame.

A haycock in a hayfield backing, lapping,

Two drowsy people pillowed round about;

While in the ominous west across the darkness

Flame leaps out.

Better a wrecked life than a life so aimless,

Better a wrecked life than a life so soft;

The ominous west glooms thundering, with its fire

Lit aloft.