Silas DementIt was moon-light, and the earth sparkledWith new-fallen frost.It was midnight and not a soul abroad.Out of the chimney of the court-houseA gray-hound of smoke leapt and chasedThe northwest wind.I carried a ladder to the landing of the stairsAnd leaned it against the frame of the trap-doorIn the ceiling of the portico,And I crawled under the roof and amid the raftersAnd flung among the seasoned timbersA lighted handful of oil-soaked waste.Then I came down and slunk away.In a little while the fire-bell rang—Clang! Clang! Clang!And the Spoon River ladder companyCame with a dozen buckets and began to pour waterOn the glorious bon-fire, growing hotterHigher and brighter, till the walls fell inAnd the limestone columns where Lincoln stoodCrashed like trees when the woodman fells them.When I came back from JolietThere was a new court house with a dome.For I was punished like all who destroyThe past for the sake of the future.
It was moon-light, and the earth sparkledWith new-fallen frost.It was midnight and not a soul abroad.Out of the chimney of the court-houseA gray-hound of smoke leapt and chasedThe northwest wind.I carried a ladder to the landing of the stairsAnd leaned it against the frame of the trap-doorIn the ceiling of the portico,And I crawled under the roof and amid the raftersAnd flung among the seasoned timbersA lighted handful of oil-soaked waste.Then I came down and slunk away.In a little while the fire-bell rang—Clang! Clang! Clang!And the Spoon River ladder companyCame with a dozen buckets and began to pour waterOn the glorious bon-fire, growing hotterHigher and brighter, till the walls fell inAnd the limestone columns where Lincoln stoodCrashed like trees when the woodman fells them.When I came back from JolietThere was a new court house with a dome.For I was punished like all who destroyThe past for the sake of the future.