 | New poems by Madison Cawein |  |
240
DEATH AND THE FOOL
Here is a tale for any man or woman:A fool sought Death; and braved him with his bauble
Among the graves. At last he heard a hobble,
And something passed him, monstrous, superhuman.
And by a tomb, that reared a broken column,
He heard it stop. And then Gargantuan laughter
Shattered the hush. Deep silence followed after,
Filled with the stir of bones, cadaverous, solemn.
Then said the fool: “Come! show thyself, old prancer!
I'll have a bout with thee. I, too, can clatter
My wand and motley. Come now! Death and Folly,
See who's the better man.”—There was no answer;
Only his bauble broke; a serious matter
To the poor fool who died of melancholy.
| New poems by Madison Cawein | |