SONG OF THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY.
But the shorten'd breath and parching lip
Are watched by many an eye;
And there is balmy drink to sip,
And tender hands to ply.
Are watched by many an eye;
And there is balmy drink to sip,
And tender hands to ply.
Come, come with me, and ye shall see
What a child of mine can bear;
Where squalid shadows thicken the light,
And foulness taints the air.
What a child of mine can bear;
Where squalid shadows thicken the light,
And foulness taints the air.
He lieth alone to gasp and moan,
While the cancer eats his flesh;
With the old rags festering on his wound,
For none will give him fresh.
While the cancer eats his flesh;
With the old rags festering on his wound,
For none will give him fresh.
Oh! carry him forth in a blanket robe,
The lazar-house is nigh;
The careless hand shall cut and probe,
And strangers see him die.
The lazar-house is nigh;
The careless hand shall cut and probe,
And strangers see him die.
Where's the escutcheon of blazon'd worth?
Who is heir to the famed, rich man?
Ha ha! he is mine—dig a hole in the earth,
And hide him as soon as ye can.
Who is heir to the famed, rich man?
Ha ha! he is mine—dig a hole in the earth,
And hide him as soon as ye can.
Oh, I am Queen of a ghastly Court,
And the handmaids that I keep,
Are such phantom things as Fever brings
To haunt the fitful sleep.
And the handmaids that I keep,
Are such phantom things as Fever brings
To haunt the fitful sleep.
See, see, they come in my haggard train,
With jagged and matted locks
Hanging round them as rough as the wild steed's mane,
Or the black weed on the rocks.
With jagged and matted locks
Hanging round them as rough as the wild steed's mane,
Or the black weed on the rocks.
They come with broad and horny palms,
They come in maniac guise,
With angled chins, and yellow skins,
And hollow staring eyes.
They come in maniac guise,
With angled chins, and yellow skins,
And hollow staring eyes.
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