THREE things there be that prosper up apace, And flourish while they grow asunder far; But on a day, they meet all in a place, And when they meet, they one another mar. And they be these: the Wood, the Weed, the Wag: The Wood is that that makes the gallows tree; The Weed is that that strings the hangman's bag; The Wag, my pretty knave, betokens thee. Now mark, dear boy''"while these assemble not, Green springs the tree, hemp grows, the wag is wild; But when they meet, it makes the timber rot, It frets the halter, and it chokes the child. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: DAVIS MATLOCK by EDGAR LEE MASTERS TOWARD THE GULF; DEDICATED TO THEODORE ROOSEVELT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE INNOVATOR by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET TO MY MYRTLE [MIRTLE] by WILLIAM BLAKE THE VALSE by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR |