Classic and Contemporary Poetry
IDLENESS, by THOMAS STURGE MOORE Poet's Biography First Line: O idleness, too fond of me. / begone, I know and hate thee! Last Line: From idleness deliver! Alternate Author Name(s): Moore, T. Sturge Variant Title(s): To Idleness Subject(s): Idleness; Laziness; Sloth; Indolence | ||||||||
O IDLENESS, too fond of me, Begone, I know and hate thee! Nothing canst thou of pleasure see In one that so doth rate thee; For empty are both mind and heart While thou with me dost linger; More profit would to thee impart A babe that sucks its finger. I know thou hast a better way To spend these hours thou squanderest; Some lad toils in the trough to-day Who groans because thou wanderest; A bleating sheep he dowses now Or wrestles with ram's terror; Ah, 'mid the washing's hubbub, how His sighs reproach thine error! He knows and loves thee, Idleness; For when his sheep are browsing, His open eyes enchant and bless A mind divinely drowsing; No slave to sleep, he wills and sees From hill-lawns the brown tillage; Green winding lanes and clumps of trees, Far town or nearer village, The sea itself; the fishing fleet Where more, as fond, thy lovers, Heark'ning to sea-mews find thee sweet Like him who hears the plovers. Begone; those haul their ropes at sea, These plunge sheep in yon river: Free, free from toil thy friends, and me From Idleness deliver! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AGAINST WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S ENCROACHING by CHARLES SIMIC NIKOS AT 42 by REETIKA VAZIRANI ODE ON INDOLENCE by JOHN KEATS IDLENESS by SILAS WEIR MITCHELL VAIN EXCUSE by WALTER CONRAD ARENSBERG BEAUTIFUL MEALS by THOMAS STURGE MOORE |
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