You talk of Gayety and Innocence! The moment when the fatal fruit was eaten, They parted ne'er to meet again; and Malice Has ever since been playmate to light Gayety, From the first moment when the smiling infant Destroys the flower or butterfly he toys with, To the last chuckle of the dying miser, Who on his deathbed laughs his last to hear His wealthy neighbor has become a bankrupt. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ADVICE by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES TO LADY ANNE HAMILTON by WILLIAM ROBERT SPENCER LOCKSLEY HALL SIXTY YEARS AFTER by ALFRED TENNYSON BLOUDIE JACKE OF SHREWSBERRIE; THE SHROPSHIRE BLUEBEARD by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM NOONDAY REST by MATHILDE BLIND THE WANDERER: 1. IN ITALY: ONCE by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON |