POEMS FROM THE THIRD^
PORTRAIT
No longer young but foolish still
He wakes to hear his words unspoken, A sadness is his toughened will,
And all except his faith unbrokeUo
He plans the day with shallow breath,
He walks the hard, accustomed way And hopes to find, beyond his death,
A time to change himself by play.
Against the grain he keeps at it
And checks his progress week by week, Today he sharpens voice and wit,
Tomorrow turns the other cheekc
Beneath his daily strategy,
Reflected in his suffering face, I see his dim identity,
A small, deserted, holy placeo
*From The Third (Bombay: The Strand Book Shop, 1959)c Reprinted by permission of the author and the publishers.