BALLADE OF SERIOUS BALLADES
LIGHT verses are these you’ve been reading—
Slim-waisted and elegant-necked,
As a maiden on water-cress feeding
If a simile splendidly decked
Appeals to your excellent sect)
But humour must pall—it’s too true.
I think you ought not to object
To a serious ballade or two.
All folk at odd times may be needing
A voice to advise or protect;
The heart of a maid may be bleeding;
The sky of your life may be flecked
With clouds, and you cannot expect
The flowers to grow without dew—
Please listen with proper respect
To a serious ballade or two!
The sprinkling of thought I am seeding
May gather, take root, and reject
The things that would hinder its breeding
(Comme il faut, that’s to say, and correct)
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