The town down the river

Chapter 40: THE COMPANION

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About This Book

A sequence of sombre, often ironic poems that portray isolated individuals and communal life through compact narratives and lyrical portraiture. The collection alternates longer sequences and standalone pieces to examine ambition, failure, memory, aging, and the persistence of imagination amid ordinary surroundings. Recurring observers address youth, dreamers, and the weather of fortune while imagery pairs domestic detail with stark solitude. Shifts between conversational monologue and formal meditation yield quiet tragedies, wry character sketches, and reflective meditations delivered in plain yet resonant language.

THE COMPANION

Let him answer as he will,

Or be lightsome as he may,

Now nor after shall he say

Worn-out words enough to kill,

Or to lull down by their craft,

Doubt, that was born yesterday,

When he lied and when she laughed.

Let him find another name

For the starlight on the snow,

Let him teach her till she know

That all seasons are the same,

And all sheltered ways are fair,—

Still, wherever she may go,

Doubt will have a dwelling there.