Parliament Hill in the Evening

The houses fade in a melt of mist Blotching the thick, soiled air With reddish places that still resist The Night's slow care.

The hopeless, wintry twilight fades, The city corrodes out of sight As the body corrodes when death invades That citadel of delight.

Now verdigris smoulderings softly spread Through the shroud of the town, as slow Night-lights hither and thither shed Their ghastly glow.