Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916.
VI. The Graves Triumph. The GraveRobert Blair (16991746)
D
Strik’st out the dimple from the cheek of mirth,
And ev’ry smirking feature from the face,
Branding our laughter with the name of madness.
Where are the jesters now? the men of health
Complexionally pleasant? Where the droll,
Whose ev’ry look and gesture was a joke
To clapping theatres and shouting crowds,
And made ev’n thick-lipp’d musing Melancholy
To gather up her face into a smile
Before she was aware? Ah! sullen now,
And dumb as the green turf that covers them.