Classic Poem

THE bread is all baked,
The embers are raked;
'Tis midnight now by chanticleer's first crowing.
Let's kindly carouse
Whilst 'top of the house
The cats fall out in the heat of their wooing.
Time, whilst the hour-glass does run out,
This flowing glass shall go about
Stay, stay, the nurse is waked, the child does cry,
No song so ancient is as lulla-by.
The cradle's rocked, the child is hushed again,
Then hey for the maids, and ho for the men.
Now everyone advance his glass;
Then all at once together clash;
Experienced lovers know
This clashing does but show
That, as in music, so in love must be
Some discord to make up a harmony.
Sing, sing! When crickets sing why should not we?
The crickets were merry before us;
They sung us thanks ere we made them a fire.
They taught us to sing in a chorus:
The chimney is their church, the oven their quire.
Once more the cock cries cock-a-doodle-doo.
The owl cries o'er the barn, to-whit-to-whoo!
Benighted travellers now lose their way
Whom Will-of-the-wisp bewitches:
About and abouThe leads them astray
Through bogs, through hedges, and ditches.
Hark! hark! the cloister bell is rung!
Alas! the midnight dirge is sung.
Let 'em ring,
Let 'em sing,
Whilst we spend the night in love and in laughter.
When night is gone,
O then too soon
The discords, and cares of the day come after.
Come, boys! a health, a health, a double health
To those who 'scape from care by shunning wealth.
Dispatch it away
Before it be day.
Twill quickly grow early when it is late:
A health to thee,
To him, to me,
To all who beauty love and business hate.