The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | ||
MY BALD HEAD.
(Mes cheveux.)
BÉRANGER.
I.
Good friends, pray listen, if you please,To Pleasure's licensed preacher;
Hold fast to Liberty and Ease;
So says your reverend teacher.
To laugh at Care, be gay and free,
The precepts I advise:
I'm bald because I'm sage, you see;
So listen to the wise!
II.
Good friends, when Care assails a man,To vex his soul and body,
I think it much the wisest plan
To drown it—in a toddy!
Nay, not too much!—the glass should be
Of very dainty size:
I'm bald because I'm sage, you see;
So listen to the wise!
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III.
Good friends, these hints will stand the test,And should n't be neglected;
But what 's the good of all the rest,
If Beauty is rejected?
Young Love, true Love, must ever be
The richest earthly prize:
I'm bald because I'm sage, you see;
So listen to the wise!
IV.
Good friends, believe me, only soWe save Life's truest treasures;
By just condensing, as they flow,
Youth's evanescent pleasures.
My sermon's done; who lists to me
The power of Fate defies:
I'm bald because I'm sage, you see;
So listen to the wise!
The poetical works of John Godfrey Saxe | ||