One And Twenty Poem by Samuel Johnson

One And Twenty

Rating: 3.5


LONG-EXPECTED one and twenty
Ling'ring year at last has flown,
Pomp and pleasure, pride and plenty
Great Sir John, are all your own.

Loosen'd from the minor's tether,
Free to mortgage or to sell,
Wild as wind, and light as feather
Bid the slaves of thrift farewell.

Call the Bettys, Kates, and Jenneys
Ev'ry name that laughs at care,
Lavish of your Grandsire's guineas,
Show the spirit of an heir.

All that prey on vice and folly
Joy to see their quarry fly,
Here the gamester light and jolly
There the lender grave and sly.

Wealth, Sir John, was made to wander,
Let it wander as it will;
See the jocky, see the pander,
Bid them come, and take their fill.

When the bonny blade carouses,
Pockets full, and spirits high,
What are acres? What are houses?
Only dirt, or wet or dry.

If the Guardian or the Mother
Tell the woes of willful waste,
Scorn their counsel and their pother,
You can hang or drown at last.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Alisha Castle 10 February 2016

A beautiful poetry work by Samuel Johnson no doubt.

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Ian Fraser 25 February 2009

Not many votes and not very high ones. Today we still expect poetry to set a high moral tone and tend to degrade this sort of thing to mere verse. There is a very nice 'sting in the tale ', however, and I doubt if 'Sir John' would have been quite so carefree with his wealth after reading this as he might have been otherwise.

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Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson

Lichfield / England
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