Classic Poem

FRANCE .

Effeminate King, the gold weight of thy crown
Was far too massive for thy nerveless brows;
Not in wild war, but in long, lewd carouse,
Did thy misspent reign reap its dull renown.

Thy frizzled pups, the damosels of thy house,
Absorbed thy vagrant thoughts, poor sceptered clown,
And the feigned anger of thy royal frown
Awed not thy mignons at their midnight bouse.

When curled and sashed, and in thy raiment dressed,
Thy lean buffoon a nobler mien hath shown,
The antique grandeur of the Valois crest
Gleamed lordlier on his satin than thine own.
He was the king, yet thou didst let his jest
Come with coarse laugh to mock thy very throne.