 | Quo Musa Tendis? |  |
17
An Afterthought .
The good a man does from time to time,
Gets thanks and praise for, is crowned with bays for
Or married for, sung for in verse sublime,
Or placed for in marble in civic halls
Or hung for in oils on palace walls:
Gets thanks and praise for, is crowned with bays for
Or married for, sung for in verse sublime,
Or placed for in marble in civic halls
Or hung for in oils on palace walls:
Is good that deserves to be hymned, no doubt,
Commemorated, and duly fêted,
And otherwise made much noise about:
And of course it is well that the men are found,
To do such good, and to be so crowned.
Commemorated, and duly fêted,
And otherwise made much noise about:
And of course it is well that the men are found,
To do such good, and to be so crowned.
But all the good that was ever done,
Or even tried for, or longed or sighed for,
By all the great men under the sun,
Since men were invented, or genius glowed,
Or the world was furnished for our abode:
Or even tried for, or longed or sighed for,
By all the great men under the sun,
Since men were invented, or genius glowed,
Or the world was furnished for our abode:
Is worth far less than the merest smile,
Or touch of finger, or sighs that linger,
When cheeks grow dimpled, and lips lack guile,
On the face of the women whom God gives grace
To—well on a certain woman's face.
Or touch of finger, or sighs that linger,
When cheeks grow dimpled, and lips lack guile,
On the face of the women whom God gives grace
To—well on a certain woman's face.
| Quo Musa Tendis? | |