A PEASANT to his lord paid yearly court, Presenting pippins of so rich a sort That he, displeased to have a part alone, Removed the tree, that all might be his own. The tree, too old to travel, though before So fruitful, withered, and would yield no more. The 'squire, perceiving all his labour void, Cursed his own pains, so foolishly employed, And "Oh," he cried, "that I had lived content "With tribute, small indeed, but kindly meant! "My avarice has expensive proved to me, "Has cost me both my pippins and my tree." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE AUDACIOUS by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON A VOYAGE TO CYTHERA by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE SUPPLICATION by JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER JR. HENRY PURCELL by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS |