WHEN Autumn's winds denude the grove, I seek my Lecture, where it lurks 'Mid the unpublished portion of My works, And ponder, while its sheets I scan, How many years away have slipt Since first I penned that ancient manuscript. I know thee well -- nor can mistake The old accustomed pencil stroke Denoting where I mostly make A joke, -- Or where coy brackets signify Those echoes faint of classic wit Which, if a lady's present, I Omit. Though Truth enlarge her widening range, And Knowledge be with time increased, While thou, my Lecture! dost not change The least, But fixed immutable amidst The advent of a newer lore, Maintainest calmly what thou didst Before: Though still malignity avows That unsuccessful candidates To thee ascribe their frequent ploughs In Greats -- Once more for intellectual food Thou'lt serve: an added phrase or two Will make thee really just as good As new: And listening crowds, that throng the spot, Will still as usual complain That 'Here's the old familiar rot Again!' | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FEELINGS OF A REPUBLICAN ON THE FALL OF BONAPARTE by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY IN THE VANGUARD by ALEXANDER ANDERSON THE STEAM-ENGINE: CANTO 9: GREAT WESTERN DAYS by T. BAKER IN THE CATACOMBS by HARLAN HOUSE BALLARD |