No!

English Poems


No! :


No sun - no moon!

No morn - no noon -

No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day
No sky - no earthly view -

No distance looking blue -
No road - no street - no 't' other side the way
No end to any Row -

No indications where the Crescents go

No top to any steeple -
No recognitions of familiar people
No courtesies for showing ‘em

No knowing ‘em!
No travelling at all-no locomotion,

No inkling of me way - no notion
No go - by land or ocean

No mail - no post-
No news from any foreign coast -

No Park - no Ring - no afternoon gentility -
No company - no nobility -
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member -

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds-
November!



By Thomas Hood



About The Poet :

Thomas Hood (1799-1845) was the son of a London bookseller. At a young age he became apprentice to an engraver. But when he became quite ill he left this job and turned to writing. In 1815, he became a journalist and worked in Dundee, Scotland. Later, he became the sub-editor of the London Magazine. He was known in his lifetime for his comic verse. But it is his more serious poetry that is remembered today.



Words to Know :

Courtesy : something done out of politeness or consideration for another person

'em : them

Gentility : courteous and well-mannered society

The gentility : people from the upper classes-would take a leisurely walk along The Ring in the afternoon greeting others as they passed.

Inkling : a vague idea, an indication of how to go about something

Ring : A circular course in Hyde Park (in London), used for riding and driving

Row : a narrow street, lined with houses or buildings on both sides : a street where a particular occupation or type of person is predominant, e.g. tannery row

't' other side the way : a colloquial contraction of the other side of the road

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