Stop Now on the Bridge.

Stop now on the bridge
And take the time.
It is a sign,
A sign for weary feet
To speed their exit, stop, or leap.
To meet a stranger or a friend,
Or one whose face (in idle glances;
Sparse thoughts;
Sweet romances) over the years your
eyes have traced.

Can you spare a moment?
The time?
Some time?
Some time before we both must leave
The river which drifts like night-
So drearily,
Blearily, but a blind puppy in the light.

At the third hour, or arch, or thought, stop!
Turn back!
Stiffen and string your mind,
Perhaps take a step or two,
Unwind the time of the crisp, turned page;
The slop of water on the stone;
The turning of the age.

But remember you are alone,
All others are heading home.
Turn again.
And let the brittle clack of feet
Fall in time with the turning face
And the bells' slow bleat-
bleat- bleat...