 | The Poems of John Clare |  |
70
VIRTUE LIVES ON
Fame will grow old like garments; time will tearThe scutcheoned tinsel and make worse for wear
The proudest trials to prolong their power;
E'en marbles, by and by, with sculpture deckt,
Shall mingle with the ashes they protect;
Brass eats itself away in canker rust;
Names writ on adamant shall creep to dust.
A good name only has the longest run,
As virtue graves it on the golden sun,
Peering its influence on the happy day—
While bad ones in night's darkness meet decay.
| The Poems of John Clare | |