Afterwards

The stalls were empty in the shed;
Nothing grazed beyond the gate.
But there was straw to make a bed,
And the four bridles dangled straight.

We heard the water running cold,
As she had left it, round the crocks.
Linen lay for us to fold
And there was pepper in the box.

The very trap that she had set
To catch a mole that loved the lawn
Hung above the passage yet;
Another mole was boring on.

The wounded deer still fled the dog
Within the gold and walnut frame;
The Fishermen Among the Fog,
And The Young Mother, were the same.

We laughed to see a boot behind
The stove; but then you wept
At your happening to find
Spectacles where she had slept.