Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BLARNEY STONE, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BLARNEY STONE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In blarney castle, on a crumbling tower
Last Line: Has kissed, -- not calvary, -- but the blarney stone!
Subject(s): Blarney Castle, Ireland; Stones; Granite; Rocks


I.
IN Blarney Castle, on a crumbling tower,
There lies a stone (above your ready reach),
Which to the lips imparts, 't is said, the power
Of facile falsehood, and persuasive speech;
And hence, of one who talks in such a tone,
The peasants say, "He's kissed the Blarney Stone!"

II.

Thus, when I see some flippant touristswell
With secrets wrested from an Emperor,
And hear him vaunt his bravery, and tell
How once he snubbed a Marquis, I infer
The man came back -- if but the truth were known --
By way of Cork, and kissed the Blarney Stone!

III.

So, when I hear a shallow dandy boast
(In the long ear that marks a brother dunce)
What precious favors ladies' lips have lost,
To his advantage, I suspect, at once.
The fellow's lying; that the dog alone
(Enough for him!) has kissed the Blar ney Stone!

IV.

When some fine lady, -- ready to defame
An absent beauty, with as sweet a grace, --
With seeming rapture greets a hated name,
And lauds her rival to her wondering face;
E'en Charity herself must freely own
Some women, too, have kissed the Blarney Stone!

V

When sleek attorneys, whose seductive tongues,
Smooth with the unction of a golden fee,
"Breathe forth huge falsehoods from capacious lungs"
(The words are Juvenal's), 't is plain to see
A lawyer's genius is n't all his own;
The specious rogue has kissed the Blarney Stone!

VI.

When the false pastor, from his fainting flock
Withholds the Bread of Life, the gospel news,
To give them dainty words, lest he
should shock
The fragile fabric of the paying pews,
Who but must feel, the man, to Grace unknown,
Has kissed, -- not Calvary, -- but the Blarney Stone!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...



Home: PoetryExplorer.net