Oh, 'tis a terrible thing in early youth <br />To be assailed by laughter and mute shame, <br />A terrible thing to be befooled forsooth <br />By one's own foolish face betrayed in flame. <br />The little traitor, when she saw me dumb, <br />Went on to clap her hands, till all and each <br />Took up the jest and called on me to come <br />And prove my courage in the manly breach. <br />The imperious queen stood waiting for me there, <br />Pointing and beckoning, and the crowd closed in. <br />Under the cover of a wilder air <br />From the brass band, the darkness and the din, <br />I know not how it was, in fear or fun, <br />I touched that monster's knee, and all was done.<br /><br />Wilfrid Scawen Blunt<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/esther-a-sonnet-sequence-xvi/
