Believe, if ever the bridges of this town,

Believe, if ever the bridges of this town, Whose towers are builded without fault or stain, Be taken, and its battlements go down, No mortal roof shall shelter me again: I shall not prop a branch against a bough To hide me from the whipping east or north, Nor tease to flame a heap of sticks, who now Am warmed by all the wonders of the earth. Do you take ship unto some happier shore In such event, and have no thought for me, I shall remain; — to share the ruinous floor With roofs that once were seen far out at sea; To cheer a mouldering army on the march . . . And beg from spectres by a broken arch.