Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A BALLAD OF INCAPACITY, by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON



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A BALLAD OF INCAPACITY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Silence is golden,' saith the saw
Last Line: The man who cannot speak!
Alternate Author Name(s): Dobson, Austin


'My Lord, I cannot speak.' -- MACLEAN THE HIGHWAYMAN
(on his trial).

'SILENCE is golden,' saith the saw,
And rightly is extolled;
For Speech, too oft, outrides the law
By waxing overbold:
Yet he, I think (of mortal mould!),
Most needs the aid of 'cheek,' --
The man who can no tale unfold, --
The man who cannot speak!

He listens with a kind of awe,
And hears around him rolled
The long, reverberate guffaw
That greets the quicker-souled;
He hears the jest, or new or old,
And mutely eats his 'leek,' --
Is classed as either dull or cold, --
The man who cannot speak!

He may have 'Latin in his mawe,'
He may keep down controlled
Potentialities of 'jaw'
Unmatched by any scold;
He may have thoughts of sterling gold
For each day in the week;
But he must all these things withhold, --
The man who cannot speak.

ENVOY.

FRIENDS, 'tis of me the fable's told;
Your sufferance I seek;
In me that shameless sight behold, --
The man who cannot speak!





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