Classic Poem

FRIENDS

I FELL among the thieves awhile ago,
Who beat and stripped me; and, thus used, I fled
For comfort to the arms of one I know
Who is to me a sister, being wed
To my heart's kinsman. But " Alas, " she said,
" Your nakedness will bring our house to woe.
Prithee begone. " She blushed and turned her head,
And left me doubting with which foot to go.

Friends in the street beheld me, old and new.
The new friends nodded; but the older stepped
In haste from my reproachful eyes and me.
They feared a creditor for sympathy,
And so fled. One only of the crew,
A harlot, stopped me, kissed my wounds and wept.