As I walked into London town

As I came down to London Town
 Upon a traveled road and long,
 I met a maid in a lurid gown
Who sang a mirthless song.

 I scanned Cheapside for Guildhall's tower,
 And searched for Richard's gold-paved street;
 Between each cobble sprang a flower
With crimson sap replete.

 High overhead were monstrous birds
That dipped and circled in the air.
 For things I saw I had no words;
I sought a house of prayer.

 St. Paul's alone within a ring
Of fire, did not fall.
I marked an angel's burnished wing
 Outlined above its wall.

As I walked into London Town,
 Besides the Thames, and near its shore,
 There came a blood-besplattered clown,
 Who vanished through a door.

 I let him pass. The Channel lay
 In folds of fog and bitter smoke.
I watched men drag debris away,
 And cover something with a cloak.

MABEL POSEGA'fl!;.