At first I saw the room in clearest light:

Evening interior, smooth wall, lamps bright;

The large round people foreground in a frame

Of a picture I had made and could not name.

It was my house, and these almost my friends,

And the evening would end as any evening ends .

Look through new ice on a deep country pond:

You'll see no farther than I could see beyond

That evening's people saying yes and no

And nothing. What am I here for? Where shall I go?

The hung glass at the question's hammer tap

Cracked suddenly into a thin nameless map,

And the crazed monstrous friendly faces spoke

Behind it among the lamps. Until it broke

I searched the veins and roadways on that chart,

The contours round a highland fortress heart .

Still they said no, and yes, and nothing, said

It as though their dearest work till they were dead

Was yes; nothing, and no. And so good night

At last, once more good night, and under the light

Outside my door one man turned back, head low,

And hard at the mouth; and, Go, he said, Go.