As I Walked Out One Evening, W.H. Auden, Summary, Analysis, and References

As I Walked Out One Evening, W.H. Auden, Summary, Analysis, and References

Text of the Poem (Stanza 01) As I walked out one evening, Walking down Bristol Street, The crowds upon the pavement Were fields of harvest wheat. (Stanza 02) And down by the brimming river I heard a lover sing Under an arch of the railway: 'Love has no ending. (Stanza 03) 'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you Till China and Africa meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street, (Stanza 04) 'I'll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry And the seven stars go squawking Like geese about the sky. (Stanza 05) 'The years shall run like rabbits, For in my arms I hold The Flower of the Ages, And the first love of the world.' (Stanza 06) But all the clocks in the city Began to whirr and chime: 'O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time. (Stanza 07) 'In the burrows of the Nightmare Where Justice naked is, Time watches from the shadow And coughs when you would kiss. (Stanza 08) 'In headaches and in worry Vaguely life leaks a…