 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
The Feast
The hour of noon is fully come,
Yet none of all I ask'd are here;
And now it grows towards the eve,
Still none arrive to taste my cheer.
Yet none of all I ask'd are here;
And now it grows towards the eve,
Still none arrive to taste my cheer.
I asked them all; the rich, the poor,
For all are welcome to my board;
But none will be my guests to day,
And eat of what my stores afford.
For all are welcome to my board;
But none will be my guests to day,
And eat of what my stores afford.
One, busy, is at home detained;
Another hies him to his farm;
Some other day a third would suit;
For each there's something else to charm.
Another hies him to his farm;
Some other day a third would suit;
For each there's something else to charm.
But still my house shall be o'erflowed!
And they who were not honored first
Will come when I my servants send,
And at my table quench their thirst.
And they who were not honored first
Will come when I my servants send,
And at my table quench their thirst.
But they who scorned my offered feast,
Shall eat of what their hearts now choose;
'Till they will learn to live with me,
And share the meat that they refuse.
Shall eat of what their hearts now choose;
'Till they will learn to live with me,
And share the meat that they refuse.
Poem No. 512; fall 1839
| Jones Very : The Complete Poems | |