Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


POVERTY by EDITH MATILDA THOMAS

First Line: O POVERTY, IF THOU AND I MUST WED
Last Line: AND PATCH THE ROOF WITH BOUGHS AGAINST THE RAIN.

O POVERTY, if thou and I must wed,
I'll surely try to sing thee into fame;
I'll call thee many a high-descended name,
To shed a lustre on thy dowerless head;
Say thou'rt a royal maiden, Spartan bred,
Early bound out to a harsh foster-dame,
My keen-eyed Hardihood! A worthy shame
I'll have of all those cates on which I fed
Before I found a zest for thy plain food.
I laugh to think how we shall entertain
Our friends from Sybaris, with all their train,
On nuts and berries from the underwood;
We'll have our floor with rushes daily strewed,
And patch the roof with boughs against the rain.



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