Classic Poem

You say my verses are not fit —
So loose and frivolous their wit —
For pedagogues to read in school;
Cornelius, you forget the rule
That little verses such as these,
Like wives and husbands, cannot please
If they are prudish. Would you say
" Write me a wedding-song, but pray
Be grave as in a funeral dirge"?
At Flora's feast would any urge
That every light o' love should be
Veiled with a matron's modesty?
These merry songs, to win success.
Need just a touch of wantonness;
A dullard would Priapus be
If made a priest of Cybele.