 | Poems (1876) |  |
256
THE WISH OF THE DRUNKARD'S FAMILY.
How oft for me my children sigh!
Oft doth my father for me pray,
And oft to me my brothers cry,—
“From public-houses keep away!”
Oft doth my father for me pray,
And oft to me my brothers cry,—
“From public-houses keep away!”
There drunkards and blasphemers meet,
And waste the precious light of day,
All blessings tread beneath their feet:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
And waste the precious light of day,
All blessings tread beneath their feet:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
The pleasure of the drunkard is,
To make the temperate his prey,
Destroy their hope, rob them of bliss:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
To make the temperate his prey,
Destroy their hope, rob them of bliss:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
There holy men are laugh'd to scorn;
There wretchedness and ruin stay;
There fevers and the plagues are born:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
There wretchedness and ruin stay;
There fevers and the plagues are born:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
There will thy credit soon be lost;
When thou hast not wherewith to pay,
Insulted to the street be toss'd:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
When thou hast not wherewith to pay,
Insulted to the street be toss'd:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
At home no fire,—all dearth around,
And spent what would for comforts pay;
Guilt only in thy breast is found:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
And spent what would for comforts pay;
Guilt only in thy breast is found:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
There friends are lost, and fading fame
Dissolves like mist at break of day;
'Tis there is got a drunkard's name:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
Dissolves like mist at break of day;
'Tis there is got a drunkard's name:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
The woes which are created there,
Will on thy whole connections prey—
Want, sickness, anguish, and despair:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
Will on thy whole connections prey—
Want, sickness, anguish, and despair:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
257
These are the very gates of death,
Through which the half of Satan's prey
Are headlong driven to despair:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
Through which the half of Satan's prey
Are headlong driven to despair:—
“From public-houses keep away!”
Now is the time! be strong, be bold,
And turn while it is call'd to-day!
Quit Satan's black infernal hold!
“From death's dark chambers flee away!”
And turn while it is call'd to-day!
Quit Satan's black infernal hold!
“From death's dark chambers flee away!”
| Poems (1876) | |