Louis MacNeice - Charon lyrics

The conductor's hands were black with money: Hold on to your ticket, he said, the inspector's Mind is black with suspicion, and hold on to That dissolving map. We moved through London, We could see the pigeons through the gla** but failed To hear their rumours of wars, we could see The lost dog barking but never knew That his bark was as shrill as a co*k crowing, We just jogged on, at each request Stop there was a crowd of aggressively vacant Faces, we just jogged on, eternity Gave itself airs in revolving lights And then we came to the Thames and all The bridges were down, the further shore Was lost in fog, so we asked the conductor What we should do. He said: Take the ferry Faute de mieux. We flicked the flashlight And there was the ferryman just as Virgil And Dante had seen him. He looked at us coldly And his eyes were dead and his hands on the oar Were black with obols and varicose veins Marbled his calves and he said to us coldly: If you want to die you will have to pay for it.