Classic Poem

They have taken the street
From underneath my feet,
Now the great roads appear
Unmeaning scratches on a sphere.
They have given every star its place,
They have made a wearying diagram of what was boundless space,
Long ago they stole fairies from the trees,
They took naiads from the rivers, and mermen from the seas.
I wish that I could tremble now
In fear of a small devil curled upon that bough.
In these imaginings I should find
Relief from the strained stillness, that is my mind.