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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
WITH A VOLUME OF VERSE, by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: About the ending of the ramadan Last Line: Which is the moral of more books than mine. Alternate Author Name(s): Dobson, Austin Subject(s): Poetry & Poets; Ramadan | |||
ABOUT the ending of the Ramadan, When leanest grows the famished Mussulman, A haggard ne'er-do-well, Mahmoud by name, At the tenth hour to Calip OMAR came. 'Lord of the Faithful (quoth he), at the last The long moon waneth, and men cease to fast; Hard then, O hard! the lot of him must be, Who spares to eat ... but not for piety!' 'Hast thou no calling, Friend?' -- the Caliph said. 'Sir, I make verses for my daily bread.' 'Verse!' -- answered OMAR. ''Tis a dish, indeed, Whereof but scantily a man may feed. Go. Learn the Tenter's or the Potter's Art, -- Verse is a drug not sold in any mart.' I know not if that hungry Mahmoud died; But this I know -- he must have versified, For, with his race, from better still to worse, The plague of writing follows like a curse; And men will scribble though they fail to dine, Which is the Moral of more Books than mine. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HALF-AND-HALF by NAOMI SHIHAB NYE THE MOON OF RAMADAN by MATHILDE BLIND THE SHEKH ABDALLAH by CLINTON SCOLLARD RAMADAN IN THE DESERT by MAY FOLWELL HOISINGTON A FANCY FROM FONTENELLE by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON A GAGE D'AMOUR by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON A GARDEN SONG by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON ARS VICTRIX (IMITATED FROM THEOPHILE GAUTIER) by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON |
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