Laments and Warnings

Though small be tlie turtle-dove,
It will high in the welkin soar.
My heart is wrung, as I muse
On our sires in the days of yore.
At the earliest dawn two forms
Haunt my soul, and I sleep no more.

Sedate, shrewd men o'er their cups
Are sober and self -restrained;
More sottish from day to day
Grow these witless and cloudy -brained.
Give heed to decorum, all!
Heaven's gifts are not twice obtained.

Wild beans that on commons grow
Are the people's common quest.
The mulberry-insect's brood
By the sphex is borne (to her nest).
Instruct, then, and train your sons;
You will make them good as the best.

Take note how the wagtail sings
As she nutters from place to place.
The days of our life speed on,
And the months are marching apace; —
Up early, and late repose;
So bring to your parents no disgrace.

The green-beaks, hovering round,
Come pecking the grain in the yards.
Alas for our needy and lone —
Thought meet for prisons and wards!
With handfuls of grain I divine
Whether fortune aught better accords.

Our humble, respectful men
Are on tops of trees, as it were;
Or, as peering into a gulf,
Shrink nervously back with care;
Or softly and fearfully tread
As on ice that will scarcely bear.