Euchenor Chorus (From “The City”)
July 5, 2023Amends to Nature
July 5, 2023In the Stalls
My life is like a music-hall,
Where, in the impotence of rage,
Chained by enchantment to my stall,
I see myself upon the stage
Dance to amuse a music-hall.
‘Tis I that smoke this cigarette,
Lounge here, and laugh for vacancy,
And watch the dancers turn; and yet
It is my very self I see
Across the cloudy cigarette.
My very self that turns and trips,
Painted, pathetically gay,
An empty song upon the lips
In make-believe of holiday:
I, I, this thing that turns and trips!
The light flares in the music-hall,
The light, the sound, that weary us;
Hour follows hour, I count them all,
Lagging, and loud, and riotous:
My life is like a music-hall.
Arthur Symons
Arthur Symons (1865-1945) was an English poet and critic who was associated with the Symbolist movement. Some of his notable works include "The Songs of the Sphere" (1893), "Days and Nights" (1895), and "Silent Places" (1910).