Christopher Morley

Here you will find the Poem Elegy Written in a Country Coal-Bin of poet Christopher Morley

Elegy Written in a Country Coal-Bin

THE furnace tolls the knell of falling steam, 
The coal supply is virtually done, 
And at this price, indeed it does not seem 
As though we could afford another ton.

Now fades the glossy, cherished anthracite; 
The radiators lose their temperature: 
How ill avail, on such a frosty night, 
The 'short and simple flannels of the poor.'

Though in the icebox, fresh and newly laid, 
The rude forefathers of the omlet sleep, 
No eggs for breakfast till the bill is paid: 
We cannot cook again till coal is cheap.

Can Morris-chair or papier-mâché bust 
Revivify the falling pressure-gage? 
Chop up the grand piano if you must, 
And burn the East Aurora parrot cage!

Full many a can of purest kerosene 
The dark unfathomed tanks of Standard Oil 
Shall furnish me, and with their aid I mean 
To bring my morning coffee to a boil.