As it wouldn't be appropriate to try to parody any work of William Collins, (the following post) I have simply used the same metre and the first word of Ode Written in the Beginning of the Year 1746. In the case of my own modest effort, (which shouldn't need to be translated into French) the same title could be used. All that needs changing of course is the year. Thus Ode Written in the Beginning of the Year 2014. It could otherwise be called Ode to Mountebanks (not to Louis XIV).
How feigns he who is bound to rule
How feigns he who is bound to rule
Inanely as would reign a mule
And just as stubborn in his way
Like drizzle on a dismal day?
Impostors have no further need
To be praised for a noble deed,
The title is all they require.
Let heroes do what they desire!
For what, in faith, is history
But crumbling tomes of vain glory?
He is crowned. It is recorded,
No further feat need be lauded.
(He must however tread with care
Lest he might lay himself more bare,
For worthless is a tarnished crown
Worn by a fraud, a fool, a clown).
For worthless is a tarnished crown
Worn by a fraud, a fool, a clown).
__
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment