Classic Poem

AS " RICHARD III . "

Hybrid and shrunken Caesar, odd-boned clown;
Lynx-like, rude, wanton, treacherous, severe;
Thy cold red eyes, over thy pallid leer
And hump accursed, glisten when glancing down.

I see in thee vague warnings of a bier,
A cunning smile half dwindling to a frown,
A sneer, a threat, a blasphemy of fear,
A toss of head that craveth for a crown!

Intolerant passions gnaw thee to the core,
Thy bosom is rent with keen impatient smart;
Hates, hidden, stenchful as a leper's sore,
Arise from out thy dead, remorseless heart
Thou art grim Richard, and thou can'st restore
His odious presence by thy wondrous art!