Aunt Helen

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.
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,
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.

- T.S. Eliot

Miss Helen Slingsby era minha tia solteira,

E ela morava numa pequena casa perto de uma praça elegante

Cuidada por empregados na quantia de quatro.

Quando ela morreu houve silêncio no céu

E silêncio no final dela da rua.

As cortinas foram cerradas e o agente funerário limpou os pés—

Ele tinha noção que esse tipo de coisa já havia ocorrido antes.

Os cachorros foram muito bem cuidados,

Mas o papagaio também morreu logo depois.

O relógio de Dresden continuou tiquetaqueando sobre a lareira,

E o lacaio sentou-se em cima da mesa de jantar

Com a segunda criada sobre os seus joelhos—

Que havia sido sempre tão cuidadosa enquanto a senhora era viva.