A boat amid the ripples, drifting, rocking,
        Two idle people, without pause or aim;
While in the ominous west there gathers darkness
                Flushed with flame.

A haycock in a hayfield backing, lapping,
        Two drowsy people pillowed round about;
While in the ominous west across the darkness
                Flame leaps out.

Better a wrecked life than a life so aimless,
        Better a wrecked life than a life so soft;
The ominous west glooms thundering, with its fire
                Lit aloft.