THE TWO HOUSES
IN the heart of night,
When farers were not near,
The left house said to the house on the right,
"I have marked your rise, O smart newcomer here.”
Said the right, cold-eyed:
"Newcomer here I am,
Hence haler than you with your cracked old hide,
Loose casements, wormy beams, and doors that jam.
"Modern my wood,
My hangings fair of hue;
While my windows open as they should,
And water-pipes thread all my chambers through.
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