FORTUNE! I thank thee: gentle Goddess, thanks! Not that my Muse, though bashful, shall deny She would have thanked thee rather hadst thou cast A treasure in her way; for neither meed Of early breakfast, to dispel the fumes And bowel-raking pains of emptiness, Nor noontide feast, nor evening's cool repast, Hopes she from this, presumptuous,--though perhaps The cobbler, leather-carving artist, might. Nathless she thanks thee, and accepts thy boon, Whatever; not as erst the fabled cock, Vain-glorious fool, unknowing what he found, Spurned the rich gem thou gavest him. Wherefore, ah! Why not on me that favour (worthier sure!) Conferredst thou, Goddess? Thou art blind, thou say'st: Enough! thy blindness shall excuse the deed. Nor does my Muse no benefit exhale From this thy scant indulgence;--even here, Hints, worthy sage Philosophy, are found, Illustrious hints, to moralize my song. This ponderous heel of perforated hide Compact, with pegs indented many a row, Haply (for such its massy form bespeaks) The weighty tread of some rude peasant clown Upbore: on this supported oft he stretched, With uncouth strides, along the furrowed glebe, Flattening the stubborn clod, till cruel Time, (What will not cruel Time?) on a wry step, Severed the strict cohesion; when, alas! He, who could erst with even equal pace Pursue his destined way with symmetry And some proportion formed, now on one side, Curtailed and maimed, the sport of vagrant boys, Cursing his frail supporter, treacherous prop! With toilsome steps, and difficult, moves on. Thus fares it oft with other than the feet Of humble villager: the statesman thus, Up the steep road where proud ambition leads, Aspiring, first uninterrupted winds His prosperous way; nor fears miscarriage foul, While policy prevails and friends prove true: But that support soon failing, by him left On whom he most depended,--basely left, Betrayed, deserted,--from his airy height Headlong he falls, and through the rest of life Drags the dull load of disappointment on. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE EARTH-CHILD IN THE GRASS by KATHERINE MANSFIELD TO W.E.B. DUBOIS - SCHOLAR by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON OCTAVES: 15 by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE LOST JEWEL by EMILY DICKINSON ULTIMA VERITAS by WASHINGTON GLADDEN UNDER THE WATERFALL by THOMAS HARDY EPITAPHS OF THE WAR, 1914-18: A DEAD STATESMAN by RUDYARD KIPLING |