The Lamp-post (1959-60)

The lamp-post - I can see it there,
Tall and straight in the cold night air,
Beaming forth with a clear bright light.
Dispersing the shadows of the night.

A head of glass, a body of steel,
An eye so bright that it might be real;
A man-made Cyclops to show the way
To travellers on the Queen's highway.

When daylight comes, no life does warm
The depths of your metallic form;
No twinkle in that eye so bright
Until the day gives way to night.

D. WALLIS, IIIA.