Carry me out
    Into the wind and the sunshine,
    Into the beautiful world.

    O, the wonder, the spell of the streets!
    The stature and strength of the horses,
    The rustle and echo of footfalls,
    The flat roar and rattle of wheels!
    A swift tram floats huge on us . . .
    It's a dream?
    The smell of the mud in my nostrils
    Blows brave - like a breath of the sea!

    As of old,
    Ambulant, undulant drapery,
    Vaguery and strangely provocative,
    Fluttersd and beckons.    O, yonder -
    Is it? - the gleam of a stocking!
    Sudden, a spire
    Wedged in the mist!    O, the houses,
    The long lines of lofty, grey houses,
    Cross-hatched with shadow and light!
    These are the streets . . .
    Each is an avenue leading
    Whither I will!

    Free . . . !
    Dizzy, hysterical, faint,
    I sit, and the carriage rolls on with me
    Into the wonderful world.

    THE OLD INFIRMARY, EDINBURGH, 1873-75

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