Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO MASTER HENRY FIELDING, by GEORGE HERBERT CLARKE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO MASTER HENRY FIELDING, by                    
First Line: I' faith, good hal, you have a saucy wit
Last Line: From storks to weeds and willows!
Subject(s): Creative Ability; Fielding, Henry (1707-1754); Honor; Passion; Inspiration; Creativity


I' FAITH, good Hal, you have a saucy wit,
You sober-smiling magistrate of modes,
And yet, I swear, I like the way of it,
Save when, of course, it mocks my social codes
And private peccadilloes.

And what a brave old Bull you are, my Fielding,
And how you tear and toss the crimson rags
Of "low" and "law," and how you scorn the yielding
To critics who, unhorsed, their saddle-bags
Must use in lieu of pillows.

They're left to brood their sins, whilst you, impatient,
Like Ocean old, to change the figure here,
With soul as free as that of any ancient,
And sentences a trifle mixed, I fear,
Sweep on in lofty billows.

Roguish as Puck, and now benign as Brahma,
Give us to drink from out your generous glass,
Seer and lover of the human drama,
Wisdom and cheer through all the way we pass
From storks to weeds and willows!





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