Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONG OF THE CROW, by ANONYMOUS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONG OF THE CROW, by                    
First Line: "lords and ladies, for your ear"
Last Line: "and your crow, as in duty most bounden, shall pray"
Subject(s): Birds;crows;greece; Greeks


LORDS and ladies, for your ear
We have a petitioner;
Name and lineage would ye know?
'T is Apollo's child, the Crow;
Waiting till your hands dispense
Gift of barley, salt, or pence.
He's not one who picks and chooses;
Naught that's proffered he refuses.
Who, to-day, gives salt, he knows
Next day fig or honey throws.
Open, open, gate and door:
Mark! the moment we implore,
Comes the daughter of the squire
With such figs as wake desire.
Maiden, for this favor done,
May thy fortunes, as they run,
Ever brighten. Be thy spouse
Rich, and of a noble house;
May thy sire, in aged ease,
Nurse a boy who calls thee mother;
And his grandam, on her knees,
Rock a girl, who calls him brother;
Kept as bride, in reservation,
For some favored near relation.
But enough now; I must tread
Where my feet and eyes are led;
Dropping at each door a strain,
Let me lose my suit or gain.

Then search, worthy gentles, the cupboard's close nook;
To the lord, and still more to the lady, we look:
Custom warrants the suit; -- let it still then bear sway;
And your Crow, as in duty most bounden, shall pray.





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