Ruby wine is drunk by knaves, Sugar spends to fatten slaves, Rose and vine-leaf deck buffoons; Thunder-clouds are Jove's festoons, Drooping oft in wreaths of dread, Lightning-knotted round his head; The hero is not fed on sweets, Daily his own heart he eats; Chambers of the great are jails, And head-winds right for royal sails. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE LITTLE BEACH BIRD by RICHARD HENRY DANA (1787-1879) THE GREEN LINNET by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AN ARAB WELCOME by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE ENGINE by ALEXANDER ANDERSON THE LAMENT: A BALLAD by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |