 | The Poetical Works of John Payne |  |
151
FRANCOIS RABELAIS.
MASTER, whose glad face lightens through the years,Awful and fair with laughter against wrong,
We that have loved thee loyally and long,
Laid heart to thine with laughter and with tears,
Glorying to see thee with thy golden spears
Smite through, Apollo-like, the Python-throng
Of woes, and no less pitiful than strong,
Salve with thy smile the dolours and the fears,
Fain would we have thy presence once again,
In these our tragic times of doubt and stress,
To purge the air with ridicule; ay, fain
Would we behold, athwart the mist that seals
Our toil-gray skies, thy brow's strong sunniness,
The visage of a god that laughs and heals.
| The Poetical Works of John Payne | |