ODE TO GERALD FESTUS KELLY 83
By the ravenous teeth that have bitten
Through the salad of lobster and cheese;
By the silliest lines I have written
(Though none are as silly as these) ;
By remarks I have made that were rude-io!
By the epigrams cruel and tart,
We beseech thee respond from thy studio,
Apostle of Art!
On canvas by paints never covered,
Nor wet with the washing of turps ;
On blocks where thy pen never hovered,
Nor pencil that crumbles and chirps.
(My fingers with ink are so inky,
I want to give vent to a phrase,
That would shock even Wee Willie Winkie,
Or t’ Owd ’un of Days.*)
We shall know what the darkness discovers
When bald are the hairs of our head ;
For “ love and the pleasures of lovers
Are only well known to the dead.” ?
We shall know if your heaven is helly,
Find out if your liver is heart;
And if brains be the whole of thee, Kelly,
Apostle of Art!
1 Macroprosopus, the ‘‘ Vast Countenance.”
2 Original epigram, by G. F. K. Copyright in the United States of
America.