Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume VI. Fancy. 1904. | | | | Poems of Sentiment: VI. Labor and Rest | | Cleon and I | | Charles Mackay (1814–1889) |
| | | CLEON hath a million acres, ne’er a one have I; | |
| Cleon dwelleth in a palace, in a cottage I; | |
| Cleon hath a dozen fortunes, not a penny I; | |
| Yet the poorer of the twain is Cleon, and not I. | |
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| Cleon, true, possesseth acres, but the landscape I; | 5 |
| Half the charms to me it yieldeth money cannot buy. | |
| Cleon harbors sloth and dulness, freshening vigor I; | |
| He in velvet, I in fustian, richer man am I. | |
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| Cleon is a slave to grandeur, free as thought am I; | |
| Cleon fees a score of doctors, need of none have I; | 10 |
| Wealth-surrounded, care-environed, Cleon fears to die; | |
| Death may come, he ’ll find me ready,—happier man am I. | |
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| Cleon sees no charms in nature, in a daisy I; | |
| Cleon hears no anthems ringing in the sea and sky; | |
| Nature sings to me forever, earnest listener I; | 15 |
| State for state, with all attendants, who would change? Not I. | | | | |
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