Poem by Thomas Hood

Ballad (Spring it is cheery)

  Spring it is cheery,
  Winter is dreary,
Green leaves hang, but the brown must fly;
  When he's forsaken,
  Wither'd and shaken,
What can an old man do but die?

  Love will not clip him,
  Maids will not lip him,
Maud and Marian pass him by;
  Youth it is sunny,
  Age has no honey,--
What can an old man do but die?

  June it was jolly,
  Oh for its folly!
A dancing leg and a laughing eye;
  Youth may be silly,
  Wisdom is chilly,--
What can an old man do but die?

  Friends, they are scanty,
  Beggars are plenty,
If he has followers, I know why;
  Gold's in his clutches,
  (Buying him crutches!)
What can an old man do but die?

1. Written in Keats' “Endymion”
2. The Two Peacocks of Bedfont
3. Song (The stars are with the voyager)
4. Ode on a Distant Prospect of Clapham Academy
5. Stanzas (Is there a bitter pang for love removed)

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