Last Poems by A. E. Housman

Beyond the moor and the mountain crest —Comrade, look not on the west— The sun is down and drinks away From air and land the lees of day.

The long cloud and the single pine Sentinel the ending line, And out beyond it, clear and wan, Reach the gulfs of evening on.

The son of woman turns his brow West from forty countries now, And, as the edge of heaven he eyes, Thinks eternal thoughts, and sighs.

Oh wide’s the world, to rest or roam, With change abroad and cheer at home, Fights and furloughs, talk and tale, Company and beef and ale.