Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BOOKS POST MORTEM, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BOOKS POST MORTEM, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I care not that some other man
Last Line: And pack them off to heaven!
Subject(s): Books; Reading


I care not that some other man,
When I am dead and gone,
Will play my part upon the stage
That I have trod upon;
Will lord it in my very house,
Will tend my bit of ground,
Will do my work in just the same
Perpetual pleasant round.
I'll let him use my desk, my pen,
And all my household nooks;
But I shall haunt him if he dares
Lay hands upon my books!

To think that some unheeding boor
May soil my Aldrich fair,
Or break my Chaucer's back, or mar
My Hazlitt debonair!
To think that some unhallowed thumb
May dog's-ear all my Lamb, --
My soul will shiver in dismay,
No matter where I am!

I see them in their piteous plight,
Their pages torn and frayed,
Their binding loose, their covers bent,
I see, and cannot aid.
I even see them -- at the sight
My heavenly harp will fall --
Exposed among the "second-hands"
Upon a sidewalk stall.
I see them marked a paltry dime,
I see the careless throng
Pause casually to tumble them,
And sneering pass along.

Ah me! Ah me! I do not mind
That shrouds are pocketless;
My little gold, my bank account,
I leave with willingness;
But oh, that some celestial van,
Some spacious van were given,
That I might put my books therein,
And pack them off to heaven!





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