Thursday, November 6, 2008

Elegy

If only the hyenas were gone...enjoy their humbling while you can. It never lasts.
GG's editor


Elegy

by Arthur Guiterman

The jackals prowl, the serpents hiss
In what was once Persepolis.
Proud Babylon is but a trace
Upon the desert's dusty face.
The topless towers of Ilium
Are ashes. Judah's harp is dumb.
The fleets of Ninevah and Tyre
Are down with Davy Jones, Esquire,
And all the oligarchies, kings,
And potentates that ruled these things
Are gone! But cheer up; don't be sad;
Think what a lovely time they had!

"Elegy" by Arthur Guiterman from The Lyric Baedeker: the Mirthful Lyre.© Harper and Brothers.

via Writer's Almanac