This creature, though extremely thin, In shape is almost square; Has many heads, on which ne'er grew One single lock of hair. Yet several of their tribe there are, Whose case you must bewail, Of whom in truth it may be said They've neither head nor tail. In purer times, ere vice prevailed, They met with due regard, The wholesome counsels that they gave, With reverence were heard. To marriages and funerals Their presence added grace, And though the king himself were by, They took the highest place. Their business is to stir up men A constant watch to keep; Instead of which, -- O sad reverse, -- They make them fall asleep. Not so in former times it was, Howe'er it came to pass; Though they their company ne'er left Till empty was the glass. The moderns can't be charged with this, But may their foes defy, To prove such practices on them, Though they're extremely dry. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VERSES FROM THE GRANDE CHARTREUSE by MATTHEW ARNOLD WERENA MY HEART'S LICHT I WAD DEE by GRISELL BAILLIE OUT WHERE THE WEST BEGINS by ARTHUR CHAPMAN IN THE HOLY NATIVITY [OF OUR LORD GOD]; AS SUNG BY SHEPHERDS by RICHARD CRASHAW THE VISION (1) by ROBERT HERRICK TO SIR HENRY GOODYERE by BEN JONSON |