The City Of Anguish

About the city clouds eternal hang And pallid shadows wander through the mist, Who to the moaning tempest eager list. The night is eerie with the mournful clang Of bells funereal. There is no name Written upon this city’s crumbling walls, And those who live within its cheerless halls Are forlorn lovers of the goddess Fame.

Tread gently, stranger, in this hallowed place, And if among the crowd perchance you meet Some long-forgotten and once-cherished face, Say not a word, extend no hand to greet Your friend, grant him at least oblivion’s grace, For pity’s sake be silent and retreat.