Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE ELEPHANT, by JONATHAN SWIFT


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE ELEPHANT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: E'er bribes convince you whom to choose
Last Line: Ours sell themselves, and take the gold.
Subject(s): Elephants


E'er bribes convince you whom to choose,
The precepts of Lord Coke peruse.
Observe an elephant, says he,
And let like him your member be:
First take a man that's free from gall:
For elephants have none at all.
In flocks, or parties, must he keep:
For elephants live just like sheep.
Stubborn in honour must he be:
For elephants ne'er bend the knee.
Last, let his memory be sound,
In which your elephant's profound;
That old examples from the wise
May prompt him in his noes and ayes.
Thus, the Lord Coke hath gravely writ,
In all the form of lawyer's wit:
And then with Latin, and all that,
Shows the comparison is pat.
Yet in some points my Lord is wrong,
One's teeth are sold, and t'other's tongue:
Now, men of parliament, God knows,
Are more like elephants of shows;
Whose docile memory and sense
Are turned to trick, to gather pence;
To get their master half a crown,
They spread the flag, or lay it down:
Those who bore bulwarks on their backs,
And guarded nations from attacks,
Now practise every pliant gesture,
Opening their trunk for every tester.
Siam, for elephants so famed,
Is not with England to be named:
Their elephants by men are sold;
Ours sell themselves, and take the gold.






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