 | Poems of Freneau |  |
To a DECEASED DOG.
IF all the world mourns for the loss of a friend,
And even in stanzas their virtues commend,
Why, SANCHO, shouldst thou by the green turf be prest,
And not have a stanza along with the rest?
And even in stanzas their virtues commend,
Why, SANCHO, shouldst thou by the green turf be prest,
And not have a stanza along with the rest?
The miser, that ne'er gave a farthing away,
Xantippe, that scolded throughout the long day,
The drunken young Quixote, that died in his prime,
In their graves never fail to be flatter'd with rhyme.
Xantippe, that scolded throughout the long day,
The drunken young Quixote, that died in his prime,
In their graves never fail to be flatter'd with rhyme.
There is an old adage our poets have read,
That “nothing but good should be spoke of the dead:”
Hence, the prophet and the sexton alike we defy,
When we write of the DEAD—they allow us to lie.
That “nothing but good should be spoke of the dead:”
Hence, the prophet and the sexton alike we defy,
When we write of the DEAD—they allow us to lie.
But I, my dear DOG, will a poem compose
That shall break half the hearts of the belles and the beaus;
To the view of each reader your VIRTUES shall shine
In verses, that HANNAH will fancy divine.
That shall break half the hearts of the belles and the beaus;
396
In verses, that HANNAH will fancy divine.
The Stoics, of old, were forbid to complain
At losses and crosses, vexation and pain;
When the day I recall, that depriv'd me of you,
I find, my dear Sancho, I'm not of their crew.
At losses and crosses, vexation and pain;
When the day I recall, that depriv'd me of you,
I find, my dear Sancho, I'm not of their crew.
How oft in the year shall I visit your grave
Amid the long forest, that darkens the wave!
How often lament, when the day's at the close,
That a mile from the church is your place of repose!
Amid the long forest, that darkens the wave!
How often lament, when the day's at the close,
That a mile from the church is your place of repose!
Ah here (I will say) is the path where he run;
And there stands the tree where a squirrel he won;
And here, in this spot where the willow trees grow,
He dragg'd out a rabbit that lurk'd in the snow.
And there stands the tree where a squirrel he won;
And here, in this spot where the willow trees grow,
He dragg'd out a rabbit that lurk'd in the snow.
If absent, awhile, on the ocean I stray'd,
I still had in view to revisit this shade—
But alas! you consider'd the prospect as vain,
Or how could you die, 'till I saw you again?
I still had in view to revisit this shade—
But alas! you consider'd the prospect as vain,
Or how could you die, 'till I saw you again?
A country there is—'tis in vain to deny—
Where monkies and puppies are sent when they die,
But you—and old Minos shall grant you a pass,
Must rank with the dogs of the gentleman class.
Where monkies and puppies are sent when they die,
But you—and old Minos shall grant you a pass,
Must rank with the dogs of the gentleman class.
The boatman of STYX shall a passage prepare,
And the Dog, at the portal, shall welcome you there;
With the cynics of hell you shall walk a grave pace,
Where “Doctors with dogs” is no more a disgrace.
And the Dog, at the portal, shall welcome you there;
With the cynics of hell you shall walk a grave pace,
Where “Doctors with dogs” is no more a disgrace.
On the bark of this beech-tree, that shadows your bones,
With tears, I inscribe these poetical groans:
If a tombstone of wood serves a soldier, 'tis clear
This tree may preserve all your fame—for a year.
With tears, I inscribe these poetical groans:
If a tombstone of wood serves a soldier, 'tis clear
This tree may preserve all your fame—for a year.
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For the squirrel you tree'd, and the duck from the lake,
These stanzas are all the return I can make:
But these, unaffected, my friendship will shew,
And the world will allow—that I give you your due.
These stanzas are all the return I can make:
But these, unaffected, my friendship will shew,
And the world will allow—that I give you your due.
1795
| Poems of Freneau | |