Epitaph on a Hare

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Here lies, whom hound did ne’er pursue,
  Nor swiftewd greyhound follow,
Whose foot ne’er tainted morning dew,
  Nor ear heard huntsman’s hallo’,

Old Tiney, surliest of his kind,
  Who, nurs’d with tender care,
And to domestic bounds confin’d,
  Was still a wild Jack-hare.

Though duly from my hand he took
  His pittance ev’ry night,
He did it with a jealous look,
  And, when he could, would bite.

His diet was of wheaten bread,
  And milk, and oats, and straw,
Thistles, or lettuces instead,
  With sand to scour his maw.

On twigs of hawthorn he regal’d,
  On pippins’ russet peel;
And, when his juicy salads fail’d,
  Slic’d carrot pleas’d him well.

A Turkey carpet was his lawn,   
  Whereon he lov’d to bound,
To skip and gambol like a fawn,
  And swing his rump around.

His frisking wa at evening hours,
  For then he lost his fear;
But most before approaching show’rs,
  Or when a storm drew near.

Eight years and five round rolling moons
  He thus saw steal away,
Dozing out all his idle noons,
  And  ev’ry night at play.

I kept him for his humour’s sake,
  For he would oft beguile
My heart of thoughts that made it ache,
  And force me to a smile.

But now, beneath this walnut-shade
  He finds his long, last home,
And waits inn snug concealment laid,
  ‘Till gentler puss shall come.

He, still more aged, feels the shocks
  From which no care can save,
And, partner once of Tiney’s box,
  Must soon partake his grave.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

1:15 min read
101

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH CXCX IJIJ XKAK LMLM NONO PXPX QRQR
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,459
Words 253
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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