GOD HUMOR is a sturdy sprite, To him my faith I proffer; And though the world go far from right, I'll leave him for no scoffer. For he who knows not how to laugh, He is forsooth a man of chaff,— Let him not nurse his sorrow, But drown himself tomorrow. And though it thunders, and the rack Of clouds be thick and gloomy, If I've the rascal on my back, My comfort's not far from me; For with his beaming smile of mirth The contradictions of the earth He well knows how to banish, As clouds in sunlight vanish. And where a dandy, cringing sly, Some great man's train would follow, Or where a pack of fools go by With heads as proud as hollow,— God Humor sets, as sure as fate A cap and bells on every pate, For he's an unseen agent In every earthly pageant. He offers spectacles to all And each who boldly asks there; He sees the world as carnival, And all the men as masks there. The beggar's rags, the prince's braid Are naught but merry masquerade; He laughs till tears come dancing At all such petty prancing. God Humor is a sturdy sprite, And why should men abuse him? His mischief helps the world go right, So why should we refuse him? Who lightly smiles, has hope of wit, Who freely laughs has all of it, And he who takes it evil,— I wish him at the devil. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE TEMPEST: PROLOGUE by JOHN DRYDEN THE LAST CHANTEY by RUDYARD KIPLING PIANO by DAVID HERBERT LAWRENCE VERLAINE by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON TO THE FONT-GEORGES by THEODORE FAULLAIN DE BANVILLE SONG: 2 by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |