by T.S. Eliot
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question...
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit.
I grow old ... I grow old ...
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through the streets,
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?...
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?
And I have known the eyes already, known them all—
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.
And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question...
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit.
This poem is a masterpiece of romanticism and sadness. It portrays the speaker's longing for connection and love, juxtaposed with his crippling self-doubt and fear of rejection. The imagery of the "evening spread out against the sky" evokes a sense of beauty and melancholy, while the speaker's introspective thoughts and anxieties create a poignant and relatable portrayal of the human condition.
This poem is not a traditional love poem, but it speaks to the complex emotions of desire, uncertainty, and the bittersweet longing for a connection that may never be found. It is a poem that resonates with anyone who has ever felt lost, alone, and yearning for something more.