Death & Dying

Watchmen

by Stephen Vincent Benét 1898–1943

From Heavens and Earth (1920)

Death & Dying

Six of us were your guards, slayers of fear,
Humor, the parti-colored, juggling knives,
Rhyme with a sonnet train of elfin wives,
Friendship, as solid-indolent as beer;
Love with his harp you thought a trifle queer,
But most amusing—if he walked in gyves.
Trust and myself made pillows of our lives.
And so you bore with us for quite a year.

You wearied. Humor twinkled to a star.
Rhyme turned a broker and began to add.
I’m sure that Friendship went entirely mad;
And Love crept stalely drunk from bar to bar.
Only remained the bald old dog, blind Trust
And I—and we shall growl till both are dust.

MLA

Benét, Stephen Vincent. “Watchmen.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/benet/75/.

Chicago

Benét, Stephen Vincent. “Watchmen.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/benet/75/.

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