Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold By "F. Harald Williams"[i.e. F. W. O. Ward]. First Edition |
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PRAISE-GOD-BAREBONES. II. |
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 | Matin Bells and Scarlet and Gold |  |
PRAISE-GOD-BAREBONES. II.
I have praised the Lord in every place,
From pavement to the pillory,
When rotten eggs wrote on my face
The devil's rude artillery;
They cropt my ears, till iron tears
Filled eyes that were unwilling,
The cruel stocks and sturdy locks
Have done their best at killing.
No wonder flesh and fat avoid a spectacle of spare bones,
And my leanness is so unalloyed it makes me “Praise-God-Barebones.”
From pavement to the pillory,
When rotten eggs wrote on my face
The devil's rude artillery;
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Filled eyes that were unwilling,
The cruel stocks and sturdy locks
Have done their best at killing.
No wonder flesh and fat avoid a spectacle of spare bones,
And my leanness is so unalloyed it makes me “Praise-God-Barebones.”
I have praised the Lord at every time
In darkness and imprisonment,
And sunk like Jeremy in slime
With rags for my bedizenment;
I have bearded priests and other beasts
And faced the very lion,
Despite the rack and daily lack
To serve my God in Sion;
I never found the time to feed my miserable spare bones,
And grew no stouter on the creed that left me “Praise-God-Barebones.”
In darkness and imprisonment,
And sunk like Jeremy in slime
With rags for my bedizenment;
I have bearded priests and other beasts
And faced the very lion,
Despite the rack and daily lack
To serve my God in Sion;
I never found the time to feed my miserable spare bones,
And grew no stouter on the creed that left me “Praise-God-Barebones.”
I have praised the Lord in every way
In town and desert dreariness,
When hands were lifted up to slay
And life was utter weariness;
I have wrestled long in sacred song
With gilded vice and varlet,
And thundered truth to titled youth
Or Jezebels in scarlet;
And though they mocked my meagre flesh and counted all my spare bones,
My soul within was plump and fresh while I was “Praise-God-Barebones.”
In town and desert dreariness,
When hands were lifted up to slay
And life was utter weariness;
I have wrestled long in sacred song
With gilded vice and varlet,
And thundered truth to titled youth
Or Jezebels in scarlet;
And though they mocked my meagre flesh and counted all my spare bones,
My soul within was plump and fresh while I was “Praise-God-Barebones.”
I have praised the Lord with every part
And in the teeth of devilry,
With lungs and lips and valiant heart
And raised a solemn revelry;
I have gladly starved when beggars carved
Rich capons for their dinner,
And gathering foods from pious moods
Yet holier waxed and thinner;
The winter cold and summer heat made havoc with my spare bones,
I little cared to drink or eat if ever “Praise-God-Barebones.”
And in the teeth of devilry,
With lungs and lips and valiant heart
And raised a solemn revelry;
I have gladly starved when beggars carved
Rich capons for their dinner,
And gathering foods from pious moods
Yet holier waxed and thinner;
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I little cared to drink or eat if ever “Praise-God-Barebones.”
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