An Epilogue To Any Book
“FINIS at last–the end, the End, the END!
No more of paragraphs to prune or mend;
No more blue pencil, with its ruthless line,
To blot the phrase ‘particularly fine’;
No more of ‘slips,’ and ‘galleys,’ and ‘revises,’
Of words ‘transmogrified,’ and ‘wild surmises’;
No more of _n_’s that masquerade as _u_’s,
No nice perplexities of _p_’s and _q_’s;
No more mishaps of _ante_ and of _post_,
That most mislead when they should help the most;
No more of ‘friend’ as ‘fiend,’ and ‘warm’ as ‘worm’;
No more negations where we would affirm;
No more of those mysterious freaks of fate
That make us bless when we should execrate;
No more of those last blunders that remain
Where we no more can set them right again;
No more apologies for doubtful data;
No more fresh facts that figure as Errata;
No more, in short, O TYPE, of wayward lore
From thy most _un_-Pierian fount–NO MORE!”
So spoke PAPYRIUS. Yet his hand meanwhile
Went vaguely seeking for the vacant file,
Late stored with long array of notes, but now
Bare-wired and barren as a leafless bough;–
And even as he spoke, his mind began
Again to scheme, to purpose and to plan.
There is no end to Labour ‘neath the sun;
There is no end of labouring–but One;
And though we “twitch (or not) our Mantle blue,”
“To-morrow to fresh Woods, and Pastures new.”
(Henry Austin Dobson)
More Poetry from Henry Austin Dobson:
Henry Austin Dobson Poems based on Topics: Books, Planning, Fate & Destiny, Labor- A Dead Letter (Henry Austin Dobson Poems)
- The Sun-Dial (Henry Austin Dobson Poems)
- The Dance Of Death (Henry Austin Dobson Poems)
- A Gage D'Amour (Henry Austin Dobson Poems)
- A Familiar Epistle (Henry Austin Dobson Poems)
- An Epistle To An Editor (Henry Austin Dobson Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Fate & Destiny Poems, Books Poems, Labor Poems, Planning PoemsBased on Keywords: mislead, epilogue, data, mishaps, ante, last-the, paragraphs, perplexities, surmises, execrate, transmogrified