Classic Poem

Say!—What is Love ? Ye wise ones say?
A Will o' the Wisp, that leads astray—
A canker worm of pois'nous power,
That lurks within the blooming flow'r!
A snake that couches in the grass,
Where heedless folks are forc'd to pass—
A blight that spoils the forward fruit,
A worm that gnaws it at the root;
A spark, which first we may desire,
But soon will set a town on fire,
And all that most we love and praise,
Alas! may perish in the blaze!——
Love , like a torrent, onward rushes,
And all the land in ruin crushes.
Sometimes it plays th' Optician's part,
And makes a glass, with so much art,
It gives one object to the sight,
And all things else are banish'd quite.
Sometimes (my simile to finish)
'Twill magnify—sometimes diminish;
And Proteus like, its tricks to season,
Twill copy every thing but Reason!—
'Twill make a draught beyond Champaign,
I intoxicate the firmest brain—
'Twill change (with wonder I have heard)
To peacock to a common bird!—
If Love must dwell within the heart,
Let it not play the tyrant's part:
For who that once has Cupid known
Wou'd set that urchin on a throne?—
Oh! shun like Death that dire disaster!
Make him your slave, but not your master.