AY, smile as you will, with your saintly face!
But I know the line
Of your guard is as weak as a maze of lace:
You may give no sign-
And the devil is never far to seek,
And a rotten peach has a lovely cheek.
As they come in the stream, I say to you:
The lives we jostle are none of them true.
Who seeks with a lamp and glass may find
A nature of honor from core to rind;
But woe to the heart that is formed so true:
It may not reck, and it still must rue
The perjured lip and the bleeding vow.
God keep it blind to the things we know-
To the ghastly scars for the leech’s eyes
And the occult lore of the worldly wise.
(John Boyle O Reilly)
More Poetry from John Boyle O Reilly:
John Boyle O Reilly Poems based on Topics: God, Faces, Wisdom & Knowledge, Smiling, Nature, Devils, Honor- The Amber Whale: A Harpooneer's Story (John Boyle O Reilly Poems)
- Uncle Ned's Tale: An Old Dragoon's Story (John Boyle O Reilly Poems)
- Uncle Ned's Tales: How The Flag Was Saved (John Boyle O Reilly Poems)
- The Pilgrim's Fathers (John Boyle O Reilly Poems)
- The Statues In The Block (John Boyle O Reilly Poems)
- The Mutiny Of The Chains (John Boyle O Reilly Poems)