GIVEN a roof, and a taste for rations, And you have the key to the "wealth of nations." Given a boy, a tree, and a hatchet, And virtue strives in vain to match it. Given a pair, a snake, and an apple, You make the whole world need a chapel. Given "no cards," broad views, and a hovel, You have a realistic novel. Given symptoms and doctors with potion and pill, And your heirs will ere long be contesting your will. That good leads to evil there's no denying: If it were not for @3truth@1 there would be no @3lying@1. "I'm nobody!" should have a hearse; But then, "I'm somebody!" is worse. "Folks say," @3et cetera!@1 Well, they shouldn't, And if they knew you well, they wouldn't. When you coddle your life, all its vigor and grace Shrink away with the whisper, "We're in the wrong place." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE POET by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR STANZAS, ON THE DEATH OF LIEUT. P. by BERNARD BARTON THE ROMANCE OF THE LILY by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES PSALM 98 by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE INLAND SEA by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN WILDERNESS by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN THE MELTING POT by BERTON BRALEY |