Copyright © Janice Tracy, Mississippi Memories

Sunday, October 17, 2010

A Poem for Sunday - The Wisdom of Folly

The cynics say that every rose is guarded by a thorn which grows to spoil our posies;
But I no pleasure therefore lack;
I keep my hands behind my back
When smelling roses.
Though outwardly a gloomy shroud 
Is bright and shining: I therefore turn my clouds about, And always wear them inside out To show the lining.
My modus operandi this -- To take no heed of what's amiss; Because, as Shakespeare used to say, A merry heart goes twice the way That tires a sad one.
- Ellen Thorneycroft Fowle
         (The Honorable Mrs. Alfred Felkin)

From Verses Wise and Otherwise

No comments:

Post a Comment