Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,
Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell
And the
profit and loss.
A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell
He passes the stages of his
age and
youth
Entering the
whirlpool.
Gentile or
Jew O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once
handsome and
tall as you.
(turn the page)(turn the page)
-T.S. Eliot-
The Waste Land
Sources:
First publication date 1922.
Public domain text taken from The Poets’ Corner:
http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/eliot01.html
CST Approved.