Poems and Songs :: :: University of Virginia Library

Poems and Songs

by Thomas Flatman. The Fourth Edition with many Additions and Amendments

Flatman, Thomas (1637-1688)

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EPODE VI.

Against Cassius Severus, a revileful and wanton Poet.

Thou Village-Curr! why do'st thou bark at me?
A Wolf might come, and go, for thee.
At me thou open'st wide, and think'st that I
Will bark with thee for company.
I'm of another kind, and bravely dare,
(Like th' Mastiff) watch my flock with care:
Dare hunt through snow, and seize that savage beast
That might my darling folds molest:
Thou (only in the noise thou mak'st) robust
Leav'st off the chase; leap'st at a crust,

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But have a care! for if I vent my spleen,
I (for a shift) can make thee grin:
I'le make thee (if Iambicks once I sing)
To die, like Bupalus, in a string.
When any man insults o're me, shall I
Put finger in mine eye, and cry?