Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MISER, by ELIZA COOK


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MISER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: To be frugal is wise;' and this lesson of truth
Last Line: Will outweigh all the gold we can leave.
Subject(s): Misers


"To be frugal is wise;" and this lesson of truth
Should ever be preached in the ears of youth.
The young must be curbed in their spendthrift haste,
Lest meagre want should follow on waste:
But to see the hand that is withered and old
So eagerly clutch at the shining gold --
Oh! can it be good that man should crave
The dross of the world -- so nigh his grave?

Sad is the lot of those who pine
In the gloomy depths of the precious mine!
But they toil not so hard in gaining the ore
As the miser in guarding the glittering store.
He counts the coin with a feasting eye,
And trembles the while if a step come nigh:
He adds more wealth; and a fiendish trace
Of joy comes o'er his shrunken face.

He seeks the bed where he cannot rest;
Made close beside his idol chest;
He wakes with a wildered, haggard stare,
For he dreams a thief is busy there;
He searches round -- the bolts are fast,
And the watchmen of the night go past.
His coffers are safe; but there's fear on his brain,
And the miser cannot sleep again!

He never flings the blessed mite
To fill the orphan child with delight.
The dog may howl, the widow may sigh,
He hears them not -- they may starve and die.
His breast is of ice, no throbbing glow
Spreads there at the piercing tale of wo;
All torpid and cold, he lives alone
In his heaps, like the toad imbedded in stone.

Death comes -- but the miser's friendless bier
Is free from the sobbing mourner's tear;
Unloved, unwept, no grateful one
Will tell of the kindly deeds he'd done.
Oh! never covet the miser's fame,
'Tis a cheerless halo that circles his name;
And one fond heart that will truly grieve
Will outweigh all the gold we can leave.





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