At the Aquarium

SERENE the silver fishes glide,

Stern-lipped, and pale, and wonder-eyed!

As through the aged deeps of ocean,

They glide with wan and wavy motion.

They have no pathway where they go,

They flow like water to and fro,

They watch with never-winking eyes,

They watch with staring, cold surprise,

The level people in the air,

The people peering, peering there:

Who wander also to and fro,

And know not why or where they go,

Yet have a wonder in their eyes,

Sometimes a pale and cold surprise.