86. To His Book
If you desire to please an Attic taste,
I warn you to Apollinaris haste,
And try to win him, for you will not find
A man more learned or a man more kind.
If he shall take you to his heart and lips,
You need not fear base jealousy's eclipse,
Nor will you serve, like a condemned man's sheet,
To wrap up mackerel in every street.
But if he frowns, then you must take your way
And lie exposed on the fishmonger's tray,
That salted herrings in you may be tied,
And children scrawl upon your other side.
I warn you to Apollinaris haste,
And try to win him, for you will not find
A man more learned or a man more kind.
If he shall take you to his heart and lips,
You need not fear base jealousy's eclipse,
Nor will you serve, like a condemned man's sheet,
To wrap up mackerel in every street.
But if he frowns, then you must take your way
And lie exposed on the fishmonger's tray,
That salted herrings in you may be tied,
And children scrawl upon your other side.
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