The Absinthe Drinker

Gently I wave the visible world away.
     Far off, I hear a roar, afar yet near,
     Far off and strange, a voice is in my ear,
And is the voice my own? the words I say
Fall strangely, like a dream, across the day;
     And the dim sunshine is a dream. How clear,
     New as the world to lovers’ eyes, appear
The men and women passing on their way!

The world is very fair. The hours are all
     Linked in a dance of mere forgetfulness.
          I am at peace with God and man. O glide,
Sands of the hour-glass that I count not, fall
     Serenely: scarce I feel your soft caress.
          Rocked on this dreamy and indifferent tide.