H. P. Lovecraft

The Marshes at Ipswich

(c. 1916–1917)
The National Magazine, Vol XLV, Oct 1916 to Mar 1917, pg 588

High o’er the fen the shielding verdure shoots,
And hides the marshy rankness at the roots;
The passing glance a waving plain beholds,
Nor marks the wat’ry waste the green enfolds;
Thus pleasing prospects charm the distant eye,
But fade and tarnish as the gaze draws nigh;
Thus sceptered pomp, magnificently bright,
Turns gross and tawdry to the closer sight.
Judge not the world by wealth of outward show,
But test the firmness of the soil below!