FORTUNE! I thank thee: gentle Goddess, thanks! Not that my Muse, though bashful, shall deny She would have thanked thee rather hadst thou cast A treasure in her way; for neither meed Of early breakfast, to dispel the fumes And bowel-raking pains of emptiness, Nor noontide feast, nor evening's cool repast, Hopes she from this, presumptuous,--though perhaps The cobbler, leather-carving artist, might. Nathless she thanks thee, and accepts thy boon, Whatever; not as erst the fabled cock, Vain-glorious fool, unknowing what he found, Spurned the rich gem thou gavest him. Wherefore, ah! Why not on me that favour (worthier sure!) Conferredst thou, Goddess? Thou art blind, thou say'st: Enough! thy blindness shall excuse the deed. Nor does my Muse no benefit exhale From this thy scant indulgence;--even here, Hints, worthy sage Philosophy, are found, Illustrious hints, to moralize my song. This ponderous heel of perforated hide Compact, with pegs indented many a row, Haply (for such its massy form bespeaks) The weighty tread of some rude peasant clown Upbore: on this supported oft he stretched, With uncouth strides, along the furrowed glebe, Flattening the stubborn clod, till cruel Time, (What will not cruel Time?) on a wry step, Severed the strict cohesion; when, alas! He, who could erst with even equal pace Pursue his destined way with symmetry And some proportion formed, now on one side, Curtailed and maimed, the sport of vagrant boys, Cursing his frail supporter, treacherous prop! With toilsome steps, and difficult, moves on. Thus fares it oft with other than the feet Of humble villager: the statesman thus, Up the steep road where proud ambition leads, Aspiring, first uninterrupted winds His prosperous way; nor fears miscarriage foul, While policy prevails and friends prove true: But that support soon failing, by him left On whom he most depended,--basely left, Betrayed, deserted,--from his airy height Headlong he falls, and through the rest of life Drags the dull load of disappointment on. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DEVOURER OF NATIONS by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET SONG OF THE STYGIAN NAIADES by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES TO MY FATHER by WILLIAM SYDNEY GRAHAM WINTER WITH THE GULF STREAM by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS ON HIS BEING [OR, HAVING] ARRIVED AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-THREE by JOHN MILTON |