Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
Thomas Hood 17991845Ballad
Hood-ThoS
Winter is dreary,
Green leaves hang, but the brown must fly;
When he ’s forsaken,
Wither’d and shaken,
What can an old man do but die?
Maids will not lip him,
Maud and Marian pass him by;
Youth it is sunny,
Age has no honey,
What can an old man do but die?
O for its folly!
A dancing leg and a laughing eye;
Youth may be silly,
Wisdom is chilly,
What can an old man do but die?
Beggars are plenty,
If he has followers, I know why;
Gold ’s in his clutches,
(Buying him crutches!)
What can an old man do but die?