| Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22. | | | | Aunt Helen | | By T. S. Eliot |
| | | MISS HELEN SLINGSBY was my maiden aunt, | |
| And lived in a small house near a fashionable square | |
| Cared for by servants to the number of four. | |
| Now when she died there was silence in heaven | |
| And silence at her end of the street. | 5 |
| The shutters were drawn and the undertaker wiped his feet— | |
| He was aware that this sort of thing had occurred before. | |
| The dogs were handsomely provided for, | |
| But shortly afterwards the parrot died too. | |
| The Dresden clock continued ticking on the mantelpiece, | 10 |
| And the footman sat upon the dining table | |
| Holding the second housemaid on his knees— | |
| Who had always been so careful while her mistress lived. | | | | |
|
|
