Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY, 1ST SERIES: THE POOR RELATION OR PIOUS HOPE ..., by MARTIN FARQUHAR TUPPER


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PROVERBIAL PHILOSOPHY, 1ST SERIES: THE POOR RELATION OR PIOUS HOPE ..., by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I saw the humble relation that tended the peevishness of wealth
Last Line: And the crime of ananias is branded on his brow!
Subject(s): Relationships


I SAW the humble relation that tended the peevishness of wealth,
And ministered, with kind hand, to the wailings of disease and discontent:
I noted how watchfulness and care were feeding on the marrow of her youth,
How heavy was the yoke of dependence, loaded by petty tyranny;
Yet I heard the frequent suggestion,—It can be but a little longer,
Patience and mute submission shall one day reap a rich reward.
So, tacitly enduring much, waited that humble friend,
Putting off the lover of her youth until the dawn of wealth:
And it came, that day of release, and the freed heart could not sorrow,
For now were the years of promise to yield their golden harvest:
Hope, so long deferred, sickly sparkled in her eye,
The miserable past was forgotten, as she looked for the happier future,
And she checked, as unworthy and ungrateful, the dark suspicious thought
That perchance her right had been safer, if not left alone with honour:
But, alas, the sad knowledge soon came, that her stern task-master's will
Hath rewarded her toil with a jibe, her patience with utter destitution!—
Shall not the scourge of justice lash that cruel coward,
Who mingled the gall of ingratitude with the bitterness of disappointment?
Shall not the hate of men, and vengeance, fiercely pursuing,
Hunt down the wretched being that sinneth in his grave?
He fancied his idol self safe from the wrath of his fellows,
But Hades rose as he came in, to point at him the finger of scorn;
And again must he meet that orphan-maid to answer her face to face,
And her wrongs shall cling around his neck, to hinder him from rising with the
just:
For his last most solemn act hath linked his name with liar,
And the crime of Ananias is branded on his brow!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net