 | The Distressed Poet |  |
The God of Verse with strength and grace
Unfolded artfully his case,
Like a warm advocate repeated,
How ill his clients had been treated,
Their patrimonial Rights invaded,
Their influence shook, their pow'r degraded:
Then nam'd the Bard whose rebel spirit
Could thus their just resentment merit,
Their long-prov'd services deserting,
To be with old Dame Nature flirting;
Expos'd the visionary schemes
O'er which the doating culprit dreams,
Whence he is destin'd soon to wake,
Compleatly dup'd by his mistake.
And, Madam, adds the God, since you
Mischief's nice stratagems pursue,
Know, while his Paramour he's praising,
To Her a Temple he is raising;
Your subtle arts to ours then join,
And crush his profligate design.
Unfolded artfully his case,
Like a warm advocate repeated,
How ill his clients had been treated,
Their patrimonial Rights invaded,
Their influence shook, their pow'r degraded:
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Could thus their just resentment merit,
Their long-prov'd services deserting,
To be with old Dame Nature flirting;
Expos'd the visionary schemes
O'er which the doating culprit dreams,
Whence he is destin'd soon to wake,
Compleatly dup'd by his mistake.
And, Madam, adds the God, since you
Mischief's nice stratagems pursue,
Know, while his Paramour he's praising,
To Her a Temple he is raising;
Your subtle arts to ours then join,
And crush his profligate design.
| The Distressed Poet | |