THE LISTENERS
by Walter De La Mare
‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champed the grasses
Of the forest’s ferny floor:
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller’s head:
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
‘Is there anybody there?’ he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller’s call.
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
‘Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:—
‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word,’ he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.
Bio
Walter de la Mare, born in 1873 in Kent, England, began his career as a bookkeeper before transitioning to writing full-time. He gained recognition for his imaginative poetry and prose, which often blended reality with fantasy, creating dreamlike atmospheres filled with supernatural elements. De la Mare’s work, characterized by its lyrical quality and vivid imagery, explored themes of childhood, dreams, and the subconscious. His most famous poems include “The Listeners” and “Silver,” while his novel “Memoirs of a Midget” won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Throughout his career, de la Mare published numerous poetry collections, novels, and children’s books, earning accolades such as the Companion of Honour and the Carnegie Medal. Influenced by Romantic poets and drawing heavily on folklore and fairy tales, his writing style left a lasting impact on 20th-century children’s literature and fantasy writing. De la Mare’s ability to evoke a sense of mystery and wonder in his works continues to influence writers in the fantasy and supernatural genres to this day. He passed away in 1956, leaving behind a rich literary legacy that continues to captivate readers with its exploration of the imagination and the unconscious mind.
