A WARNING
Don't listen to the fairies, Son—don't try to leave the clods,
To wander off in Eden with the children of the gods;
Don't worry when the hunters hush the nest-notes of the dove,
Nor fret when gold is offered for the broken lute of love.
Don't listen to the fairies, Son,—don't leave the Land of Trade
To seek the laughing waters and the woodland's mystic shade;
Don't grieve because they leave you and don't answer when they call:
Their tongues are tipt with honey—they are lotus-eaters all.
Don't listen to the fairies, Son,—don't watch the star that gleams
To guide you up the mountain to the throne-room of your dreams;
Don't turn aside to catch the light that showers from life's wings,
Lest you forget the ledger is the holiest of things.
Don't listen to the fairies, Son,—don't be a fool and quit
The sacred House of Dollars, just at Music's feet to sit;
Don't heed them when they whisper "love" and "hope" and "faith" and "trust,"—
For all except the cashbox is as ashes and as dust.
✤ ✤ ✤ ✤
"I HAVE PLOWED IN THE SEA"
I have sown in the desert and plowed in the sea,
And the fruit of the labor is never for me—
I have sown in the desert and plowed in the sea!
I have bartered the wheat for the poppy and paid
In the hunger of soul for the bargain I made—
I have bartered the wheat for the poppy, and paid!
I have traded my portion of silver and gold
For the glow in the dew and the heat in the cold—
I have traded my portion of silver and gold!
I have lost me the world for the light of her eyes,
For the touch of her lips and her passionate sighs—
I have lost me the world for the light of her eyes!
But I've followed the dream up the mountains and fought
With the demons of death for the vision I sought—
I have followed the dream up the mountains, and fought!
I have sown in the desert and plowed in the sea,
And the gardens I planted are never for me—
I have sown in the desert and plowed in the sea!
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