ST. ANTHONY at church Was left in the lurch, So he went to the ditches And preached to the fishes; They wiggled their tails, In the sun glanced their scales. The carps, with their spawn, Are all hither drawn; Have opened their jaws, Eager for each clause. No sermon beside Had the carps so edified. Sharp-snouted pikes, Who keep fighting like tikes, Now swam harmonious To hear St. Antonius. No sermon beside Had the pikes so edified. And that very odd fish, Who loves fast-days, the codfish — The stock-fish, I mean — At the sermon was seen. No sermon beside Had the cods so edified. Good eels and sturgeon, Which aldermen gorge on, Went out of their way To hear preaching that day. No sermon beside Had the eels so edified. Crabs and turtles also, Who always move slow, Made haste from the bottom, As if the devil had got'em. No sermon beside Had the crabs so edified. Fish great and fish small, Lords, lackeys, and all, Each looked at the preacher, Like a reasonable creature: At God's word, They Anthony heard. The sermon now ended, Each turned and descended; The pikes went on stealing, The eels went on eeling; Much delighted were they, But preferred the old way. The crabs are backsliders, The stock-fish thick-siders, The carps are sharp-set, — All the sermon forget: Much delighted were they, But preferred the old way. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SHELL TO THE PEARL by LOUIS UNTERMEYER THE SPHINX by RALPH WALDO EMERSON THE WIND ON THE HILLS by DORA SIGERSON SHORTER THE INCHCAPE ROCK by ROBERT SOUTHEY SAINT TERESA'S BOOK-MARK by THERESA OF AVILA |