A Cynic’s Song.
SOME men strut proudly, all purple and gold,
Hiding queer deeds ‘neath a cloak of good fame;
I creep along, braving hunger and cold,
To keep my heart stainless as well as my name;
So, so, where is the good of it?
Some clothe bare Truth in fine garments of words,
Fetter her free limbs with cumbersome state:
With me, let me sit at the lordliest boards,
“I love” means I love, and “I hate” means I hate,
But, but, where is the good of it?
Some have rich dainties and costly attire,
Guests fluttering round them and duns at the door:
I crouch alone at my plain board and fire,
Enjoy what I pay for and scorn to have more.
Yet, yet, where is the good of it?
Some gather round them a phalanx of friends,
Scattering affection like coin in a crowd;
I keep my heart for the few that heaven sends,
Where they’ll find their names writ when I lie in my shroud.
Still, still, where is the good of it?
Some toy with love, lightly come, lightly go,
A blithe game at hearts, little worth, little cost:–
I staked my whole soul on one desperate throw,
A life ‘gainst an hour’s sport. We played’ and I–lost
Ha, ha, such was the good of it!
Moral: Added On His Death-Bed
TURN the Past’s mirror backward. Its shadows removed,
The dim confused mass becomes softened, sublime:
I have worked–I have felt–I have lived–I have loved,
And each was a step towards the goal I now climb:
Thou, God, Thou sawest the good of it.
(Dinah Maria Mulock Craik)
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Based on Topics: Love Poems, Man Poems, God Poems, Life Poems, Friendship Poems, Name Poems, Fire Poems, Gold Poems, Past Poems, Fame Poems, Hatred PoemsBased on Keywords: duns, phalanx, cynic, lordliest, sawest, cumbersome