Confounded Nonsense by Thomas Hood the Younger

Confounded Nonsense

Alpaca pictures of the previous past,

    Droop on the hovering confines of a snore,

And yet one further bloom, conversely vast,

    Springs bright in the perspective of the shore,

Where porphyry wings bear up an ardent pride,

    And rainbows drip from evanescent crags,

Where peaceful popinjays smile side by side,

    And immemorial franchise furls its flags.

So let it be: imperious tumbrils howl,

    And palpitating fixtures utter screeds;

Afar the murmurous aspens hoarsely scowl,

    And purple pageants echo frantic deeds.

Farewell! I see life’s periphrastic orb

    Shiver to scantlings with a latent sound,

Dark ether pours, while shrinking minds absorb,

    And blatant wilderness close around.

The Chatto Book of Nonsense Poetry, ed. by Hugh Haughton (London: Chatto & Windus, 1988), 324-5.