Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: Give me your soldiers' bracelets; all
Last Line: To bruise and crush them with its weight.
Subject(s): Vanity


"GIVE me your soldiers' bracelets; all
Their splendid jewels, great and small,
And straight your army shall be led
Within the city walls." So said
Tarpeia, while the Sabine waits
In siege before the Roman gates.
Whereat each soldier, filing past
The traitress, on her body cast
His heavy bracelet; till at last
The shining heap became so great,
She fell and died beneath their weight.
Even so it fares with mortals, who
With headlong eagerness pursue
Ambition, pleasure, wealth, or fame,
The glittering prize at which they aim
Comes often, like Tarpeia's fate,
To bruise and crush them with its weight.





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