by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

I travel as a phantom now
Language: English 
I travel as a phantom now,
For people do not wish to see
In flesh and blood so bare a bough
As Nature makes of me.

And thus I visit bodiless
Strange gloomy households often at odds,
And wonder if Man's consciousness
Was a mistake of God's.

And next I meet you, and I pause,
And think that if mistake it were,
As some have said, O then it was
One that I well can bear!

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-01-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 76