Poem : Ye Flags Of Picadilly

Poet : Arthur Hugh Clough

Ye flags of Piccadilly,
  Where I posted up and down,
And wished myself so often
  Well away from you and town—
Are the people walking quietly
  And steady on their feet,
Cabs and omnibuses plying
  Just as usual in the street?
Do the houses look as upright
  As of old they used to be,
And does nothing seem affected
  By the pitching of the sea?
Through the Green Park iron railings
  Do the quick pedestrians pass?
Are the little children playing
  Round the plane-tree in the grass?
This squally wild northwester
  With which our vessel fights,
Does it merely serve with you to
  Carry up some paper kites?
Ye flags of Piccadilly,
  Which I hated so, I vow
I could wish with all my heart
  You were underneath me now!