SWIFT TO SHERIDAN

Poor Tom, wilt thou never accept a defiance,

Though I dare you to more than quadruple alliance.

You're so retrograde, sure you were born under Cancer;

Must I make myself hoarse with demanding an answer?

If this be your practice, mean scrub, I assure ye,

And swear by each Fate, and your new friends, each Fury,

I'll drive you to Cavan, from Cavan to Dundalk;

I'll tear all your rules, and demolish your pun-talk:

Nay, further, the moment you're free from your scalding,

I'll chew you to bullets, and puff you at Baldwin.

The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 2 · 第 262 / 310 题