The Gutter's Lap

Revised Edition The winter night was whistling through The mouths of factory skulls And knocking at my sodden head Tramping knots of nameless streets Strewn on rolling waters Footsteps brimming full with scowls Were barking at my back Echoes sharp in front and hollow I lay my head in the gutter’s lap Ashen walls on either side More stars were gathered in between Than I had ever seen Original The winter night was whistling through The mouths of factory skulls And knocking at my sodden head Tramping nameless streets in this The loneliest of places Footsteps brimming full with scowls Were barking at my back Nowhere to go, nobody to see I lay my head in the gutter’s lap With walls arranged on either side More stars were gathered in between Than I had ever seen