Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WISHES TO MY SON, JOHN; FOR THIS NEW, AND ALL SUCCEEDING YEARS, 1630, by HENRY KING (1592-1669)


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WISHES TO MY SON, JOHN; FOR THIS NEW, AND ALL SUCCEEDING YEARS, 1630, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: If wishes may enrich my boy
Last Line: My wishes crowned, in crowning thee.
Subject(s): Holidays; New Year; Sons


IF wishes may enrich my boy,
My Jack, that art thy father's joy,
They shall be showered upon thy head
As thick as manna, angel's bread;
And bread I wish thee -- this short word
Will furnish both thy back and board;
Not Fortunatus' purse or cap
Nor Danae's gold-replenished lap
Can more supply thee: but content
Is a large patrimony, sent
From him who did thy soul infuse.
May'st thou this best endowment use
In any state; thy structure is
I see complete -- a frontispiece
Promising fair; may it ne'er be
Like Jesuit's volumes, where we see
Virtues and saints adorn the front,
Doctrines of devils follow on't:
May a pure soul inhabit still
This well-mixed clay; and a straight will
Biassed by reason, that by grace.
May gems of price maintain their place
In such a casket: in that list
Chaste turquoise, sober amethyst
That sacred breastplate still surround:
Urim and Thummim be there found,
Which for thy wearing I design,
That in thee King and Priest may join,
As 'twas thy grandsire's choice, and mine.
May'st thou attain John the Divine
Chief of thy titles, though contempt
Now brand the clergy; be exempt,
I ever wish thee, from each vice
That may that calling scandalize:
Let not thy tongue with court oil flow,
Nor supple language lay thee low
For thy preferment; make God's cause
Thy pulpit's task, not thine applause;
May'st thou both preach by line and life;
That thou live well and chaste, a wife
I wish thee, such as is thy sire's,
A lawful help 'gainst lustful fires;
And though promotions often frown
On married brows, yet lie not down
In single baudry; impure monks,
That banish wedlock, license punks.
Peace I do wish thee from those wars
Which gownmen talk out at the bars
Four times a year; I wish thee peace
Of conscience, country, and increase
In all that best of men commends,
Favour with God, good men thy friends.
Last, for a lasting legacy
I this bequeath, when thou shalt die,
Heaven's monarch bless mine eyes, to see
My wishes crowned, in crowning thee.





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