Sharply the menacing wind sweeps over The bending poplars, newly bare, And the dark ribbons of the chimneys Veer downward; flicked by whips of air. Torn posters flutter; coldly sound The boom of trams and the rattle of hooves, And the clerks who hurry to the station Look, shuddering, over the eastern rooves, Thinking, each one, "Here comes the winter! " Please God I keep my job this year! " And bleakly, as the cold strikes through Their entrails like an icy spear, They think of rent, rates, season tickets, Insurance, coal, the skivvy's wages, Boots, school-bills and the next installment Upon the two twin beds from Drage's.For if in careless summer days In groves of Ashtaroth we whored, Repentant now, when winds blow cold, We kneel before our rightful lord; The lord of all, the money-god, Who rules us blood and hand and brain, Who gives the roof that stops the wind, And, giving, takes away again; Who spies with jealous, watchful care, Our thoughts, our dreams, our secret ways, Who picks our words and cuts our clothes, And maps the pattern of our days; Who chills our anger, curbs our hope. And buys our lives and pays with toys, Who claims as tribute broken faith, Accepted insults, muted joys; Who binds with chains the poet's wit, The navvy's strength, the soldier's pride, And lays the sleek, estranging shield Between the lover and his bride. George Orwell
About This Quote

In the poem "The Chimney Sweeper," from his book "Poems," Percy Bysshe Shelley expresses his feelings about how how the world has changed in the past 100 years. The poem is about a chimney sweep, who is one of the lowest forms of society. He has been fired from his job, and he has nothing to do but roam around London looking for work.

Some Similar Quotes
  1. Come sleep with me: We won't make Love, Love will make us. - Unknown
  2. He drew a circle that shut me out- Heretic , rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him In ! From the poem " Outwitted - Edwin Markham
  3. Maybe you could be mine / or maybe we’ll be entwined / aimless in this sexless foreplay. - Jess C. Scott
  4. The only sea I saw Was the seesaw sea With you riding on it. Lie down, lie easy. Let me shipwreck in your thighs. - Dylan Thomas
  5. I would kiss you in the middle of the ocean during a lightning storm cuz I'd rather be left for dead than wondering what thunder sounds like. - Andrea Gibson
More Quotes By George Orwell
  1. Confession is not betrayal. What you say or do doesn't matter only feelings matter. If they could make me stop loving you-that would be the real betrayal.
  2. At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.
  3. This work was strictly voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations reduced by half.
  4. Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.
  5. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
Related Topics