Before a Fall

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And what was the big room he walked in?
 The big room he walked in,
 Over the smooth floor,
 Under the sky light,
 Was his own brain.

And what was it he admired there?
 He admired there
 The oval mirror.

And what was it the oval mirror showed him there?
 It showed him the roots
 Through the ceiling,
 The gross armchair, the bookcase
 Shuttered with glass,
 The Hymns bound in velvet,
 The porcelain oven,
 The giant egg cups,
 The hairy needles,
 And the silence

 And the smell of smouldering dung
 Hung between the walls
 (Which were yellow as dandelion).

And how did he leave?
 On the smooth floor
 His neat feet jarred
 And his teeth grew down
 To his heart, and he slipped
 On the white stairhead -

Which ended?
 Which ended in coldness
 And darkness,
 Through which he fell
 (So they tell)
 With little hope, and slowly.

© Geoffrey Grigson