The barkeeper -- what fearful heap Contains the things that he will keep! He'll keep your money, all of it; He'll keep your memory and wit; He'll keep the beauty of your face; He'll keep your wages and your place; He'll keep your honor and good name; He'll keep the strength with which you came; He'll keep your talents and your skill; He'll keep your firm and steady will; He'll keep your smile, your peace, your joy; He'll keep the future of your boy; He'll keep the carols of your wife; He'll keep your spirit and your life; And he will bind you at the last To other keepers hard and fast -- The keeper of the prison cell, And him that keeps the door of hell! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PROGRESSIVE HEALTH by CARL DENNIS THE HUMBLE-BEE by RALPH WALDO EMERSON AN ELEGY: TO AN OLD BEAUTY by THOMAS PARNELL MOLLY PITCHER [JUNE 28, 1778] by KATE BROWNLEE SHERWOOD THE CHILD ALONE: 4. PICTURE-BOOKS IN WINTER by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON |