Minor Poems, including Napoleon By Bernard Barton. Second Edition, with Additions |
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TO
A DILATORY CORRESPONDENT. |
 | Minor Poems, including Napoleon |  |
206
TO A DILATORY CORRESPONDENT.
I
Much as thy silence I admire,Yet taciturnity may tire,
By its protracted tedium;
And make one wish, in words, to find,
For intercourse 'twixt mind and mind,
A more congenial medium.
II
I ne'er profess'd, with learned ease,To understand dead languages;
And, to my cogitation,
That language is most truly dead,
Which, leaving every thing unsaid,
Conveys no information.
207
III
Silence is eloquent, I own,While looks can make its meaning known
In tête-à-tête communion;
But paper, pen, and ink possess
No power, a single thought t' express,
Without a triple union.
IV
He who has not within his reachThese requisites for distant speech,
May be excused for balking;
But he who has them close at hand
Deserves a friendly reprimand,
Unless he set them talking!
| Minor Poems, including Napoleon | |