OF, yore, in old England, it was not thought good To carry two visages under one hood; What should folk say to you? who have faces such plenty, That, from under one hood, last night show'd us twenty! Stand forth, arch deceiver, and tell us in truth, Are you handsome or ugly, in age or in youth? Man, woman, or child -- a dog or a mouse? Or are you, at once, each live thing in the house? Each live thing, did I ask? -- each dead implement, too, A workshop in your person, -- saw, chisel, and screw! Above all, are you one individual? I know You must be at least Alexandre and Co. But I think you're a troop -- an assemblage -- a mob, And that I, as the Sheriff, should take up the job; And instead of rehearsing your wonders in verse, Must read you the Riot Act, and bid you disperse. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AT NIGHT; SONNET by AMY LOWELL IN A RESTAURANT by SARA TEASDALE AN APPEAL TO CATS IN THE BUSINESS OF LOVE; SONG by THOMAS FLATMAN ON KEATS, WHO DESIRED THAT ON HIS TOMB SHOULD BE INSCRIBED: by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY SILVER ANNIVERSARY by BEULAH ALLYNE BELL |