I spied John Mouldy in his celler, <br />Deep down twenty steps of stone; <br />In the dusk he sat a-smiling <br />Smiling there all alone. <br /> <br />He read no book, he snuffed no candle; <br />The rats ran in, the rats ran out, <br />And far and near, the drip of water <br />Went whisp'ring about. <br /> <br />The dusk was still, with dew a-falling, <br />I saw the Dog-star bleak and grim, <br />I saw a slim brown rat of Norway <br />Creep over him. <br /> <br />I spied John Mouldy in his celler, <br />Deep down twenty steps of stone; <br />In the dusk he sat a-smiling <br />Smiling there all alone.<br /><br />Walter de la Mare<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/john-mouldy/
