The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke






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   I came back late and tired last night
    Into my little room,
   To the long chair and the firelight
    And comfortable gloom.

   But as I entered softly in
    I saw a woman there,
   The line of neck and cheek and chin,
    The darkness of her hair,
   The form of one I did not know
    Sitting in my chair.

   I stood a moment fierce and still,
    Watching her neck and hair.
   I made a step to her; and saw
    That there was no one there.

   It was some trick of the firelight
    That made me see her there.
   It was a chance of shade and light
    And the cushion in the chair.

   Oh, all you happy over the earth,
    That night, how could I sleep?
   I lay and watched the lonely gloom;
    And watched the moonlight creep
   From wall to basin, round the room,
    All night I could not sleep.

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