The Joyful Wisdom

For nature tells the time no more!
Too many clocks her voice have drowned,
And droning law has dulled her sound.

49

The Sage Speaks

Strange to the crowd, yet useful to the crowd,
I still pursue my path, now sun, now cloud,
But always pass above the crowd!

50

He lost his Head…

She now has wit – how did it come her way?
A man through her his reason lost, they say.
His head, though wise ere to this pastime lent,
Straight to the devil – no, to woman went!

51

A Pious Wish

"Oh, might all keys be lost! 'Twere better so
And in all keyholes might the pick-lock go!"
Who thus reflects ye may as – picklock know.

52

Foot Writing

I write not with the hand alone,
My foot would write, my foot that capers,
Firm, free and bold, it's marching on
Now through the fields, now through the papers.

53

"Human, All-too-Human." …

Shy, gloomy, when your looks are backward thrust,
Trusting the future where yourself you trust,
Are you an eagle, mid the nobler fowl,
Or are you like Minerva's darling owl?

54

To my Reader

Good teeth and a digestion good
I wish you – these you need, be sure!
And, certes, if my book you've stood,
Me with good humour you'll endure.

55

The Realistic Painter

"To nature true, complete!" so he begins.
Who complete Nature to his canvas wins?
Her tiniest fragment's endless, no constraint
Can know: he paints just what his fancy pins:
What does his fancy pin? What he can paint!

56

Poets' Vanity

Glue, only glue to me dispense,
The wood I'll find myself, don't fear!
To give four senseless verses sense —
That's an achievement I revere!

57

Taste in Choosing

If to choose my niche precise
Freedom I could win from fate,
I'd be in midst of Paradise —
Or, sooner still – before the gate!

58

The Crooked Nose

Wide blow your nostrils, and across
The land your nose holds haughty sway:
So you, unhorned rhinoceros,
Proud mannikin, fall forward aye!
The one trait with the other goes:
A straight pride and a crooked nose.

59

The Pen is Scratching…

The pen is scratching: hang the pen!