Poem by Arthur Conan Doyle

«Songs of Action» (1898). 23. The Blind Archer

Little boy Love drew his bow at a chance,
	Shooting down at the ballroom floor;
He hit an old chaperone watching the dance,
	And oh! but he wounded her sore.
			‘Hey, Love, you couldn’t mean that!
			Hi, Love, what would you be at?’
    				No word would he say,
    				But he flew on his way,
For the little boy’s busy, and how could he stay?

Little boy Love drew a shaft just for sport
	At the soberest club in Pall Mall;
He winged an old veteran drinking his port,
	And down that old veteran fell.
			‘Hey, Love, you mustn’t do that!
			Hi, Love, what would you be at?
   				This cannot be right!
   				It’s ludicrous quite!’
But it’s no use to argue, for Love’s out of sight.

A sad-faced young clerk in a cell all apart
	Was planning a celibate vow;
But the boy’s random arrow has sunk in his heart,
	And the cell is an empty one now.
			‘Hey, Love, you mustn’t do that!
			Hi, Love, what would you be at?
   				He is not for you,
   				He has duties to do.’
‘But I AM his duty,’ quoth Love as he flew.

The king sought a bride, and the nation had hoped
	For a queen without rival or peer.
But the little boy shot, and the king has eloped
	With Miss No-one on Nothing a year.
			‘Hey, Love, you couldn’t mean that!
			Hi, Love, what would you be at?
   				What an impudent thing
   				To make game of a king!’
‘But I’M a king also,’ cried Love on the wing.

Little boy Love grew pettish one day;
	‘If you keep on complaining,’ he swore,
‘I’ll pack both my bow and my quiver away,
	And so I shall plague you no more.’
			‘Hey, Love, you mustn’t do that!
			Hi, Love, what would you be at?
   				You may ruin our ease,
   				You may do what you please,
But we can’t do without you, you dear little tease!’

1. «Songs of the Road» (1911). 3. The Arab Steed
2. «Songs of the Road» (1911). 9. The End
3. «Songs of the Road» (1911). 8. The Outcasts
4. «Songs of the Road» (1911). 30. The Echo
5. «Songs of the Road» (1911). 4. A Post-Impressionist

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