On A Mischievous Bull, Which The Owner Him Sold At The Author's Instance

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



Go--thou art all unfit to share
The pleasures of this place
With such as its old tenants are,
Creatures of gentler race.
The squirrel here his hoard provides,
Aware of wintry storms,
And woodpeckers explore the sides
Of rugged oaks for worms.
The sheep here smooths the knotted thorn
With frictions of her fleece;
And here I wander eve and morn,
Like her, a friend to peace.
Ah!—I could pity thee exiled
From this secure retreat—
I would not lose it to be styled
The happiest of the great.
But thou canst taste no calm delight;
Thy pleasure is to show
Thy magnanimity in fight,
Thy prowess—therefore, go—
I care not whether east or north,
So I no more may find thee;
The angry muse thus sings thee forth,
And claps the gate behind thee.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
95

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDEDFGHGHIJIKLMLMNONO
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 729
Words 138
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24

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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