Page:Collected poems vol 2 de la mare.djvu/28

 SPIED John Mouldy in his cellar,
 * Deep down twenty steps of stone;

In the dusk he sat a-smiling,
 * Smiling there alone.

He read no book, he snuffed no candle;
 * The rats ran in, the rats ran out;

And far and near, the drip of water
 * Went whispering about.

The dusk was still, with dew a-falling,
 * I saw the Dog Star bleak and grim,

I saw a slim brown rat of Norway
 * Creep over him.

I spied John Mouldy in his cellar,
 * Deep down twenty steps of stone;

In the dusk he sat a-smiling,
 * Smiling there alone.