Of Rest that thou hast never found;
What wonder if thy daily Round
Is very like a Wail?

Yet many love thee. Though his clutch
Be heavy, Time doth still afford
That fine consolatory touch--
It hardly seems to go for much,
But cannot be ignored.

For him that braves the midday fare
Thou hast the immemorial task
Of booming forth at one--or there-
abouts--which saves the wear and tear
Of yelling out to ask.

So, when athwart the glooming flats
Thy hoarse, nocturnal whispers stray--
Much to the horror of the bats--
We're one day nearer home, and that's
A comfort, anyway!

Then courage! Guns may come and go,
But him alone we hold divine
Whose task it is to let us know
The hours of one o'clock--or so--
And--roundly--half-past nine.

OMAR OUT OF DATE

BY A RENEGADE DISCIPLE

Wake! for Reveillee scatters into flight
The flagging Rearguard of a ruined Night,
And hark! the meagre Champion of the Roost
Has flung a matins to the Throne of Light.

Here, while the first beam smites the sullen Sky,
With silent feet Hajam comes stealing nigh,
Bearing the Brush, the Vessel, and the Blade,
These sallow cheeks of mine to scarify.

How often, oh, how often have I sworn
Myself myself to shave th' ensuing Morn!
And then--and then comes Guest-night, and Hajam
Appears unbidden, and is gladly borne.

Come, fill the Cup! The nerve-restoring Ti
Shall woo me with the Leaf of far Bohi;
What matter that to some the Koko makes
Appeal, to some the Cingalese Kofi?

For in a minute Toil, that ever thrives,
Awaits me with her Shackles and her Gyves,
And ever crieth Folly in the streets:
'To work! for needs ye must when Shaitan drives.'

Alas! that I did yesternight disport
With certain fellows of the baser Sort,
Unheedful of the living consequence
When Drinks are long, and Pockets all too short!

With them the game of Poka did I play,
And in wild session turned the Night to Day;
And many a Chip I dropped upon the Board,
And many a Moistener poured upon the Clay.

I put my Pile against th' Improbable,
And with a Full Hand thought to make it swell;
And this was all the Profit that I reaped:
A Full of Kings is Heaven--and Fours are Hell!