The Heap of Rags

Read 'The Heap of Rags' by 'William Henry Davies' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

The Heap of Rags by William Henry Davies

 One night when I went down 
Thames' side, in London Town, 
A heap of rags saw I, 
And sat me down close by. 
That thing could shout and bawl, 
But showed no face at all; 
When any steamer passed 
And blew a loud shrill blast, 
That heap of rags would sit 
And make a sound like it; 
When struck the clock's deep bell, 
It made those peals as well. 
When winds did moan around, 
It mocked them with that sound; 
When all was quiet, it 
Fell into a strange fit; 
Would sigh, and moan, and roar, 
It laughed, and blessed, and swore. 
Yet that poor thing, I know, 
Had neither friend nor foe; 
Its blessin or its curse 
Made no one better or worse. 
I left it in that place -- 
The thing that showed no face, 
Was it a man that had 
Suffered till he went mad? 
So many showers and not 
One rainbow in the lot? 
Too many bitter fears 
To make a pearl from tears?

Form: Ballad

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