A Street

Two narrow files of houses scowl, Blackened with grime, on either side Of the road, and through them prowl Strange men and women, shifty-eyed And slinking, and a drink-shop throws Its flare of yellow light adown The cracked pavement. The gutter flows A turbid, evil stream. A clown, Drink-sodden, lurches by and sings Obscenely. A woman trails behind With old, bad eyes ; her clothing clings Rain-soaked about her. No daring wind, Light-hearted, from a garden blows Its sweetness here from any rose.