The Brandy Glass

--Louis Macneice

Only let it form within his hands once more -

The moment cradled like a brandy glass.

Sitting alone in the empty dining hall...

From the chandeliers the snow begins to fall

Piling around carafes and table legs

And chokes the passage of the revolving door.

The last diner, like a ventriloquist's doll

Left by his master, gazes before him, begs:

'Only let it form within my hands once more.'