To a Fool

To a Fool written by William Henry Davies

From "The Hour of Magic", 1922

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If, when thy body's end has come,
Thy mind must find another home,
   Make no mistake with man again;
Come into flesh the thing thou art
In all except thy body's part -
   Come as a silly ass, and plain.

Such were my thoughts, their honest parts,
But oh, what liars are kind hearts!
   What smooth false words such hearts demand:
'Thy dreams,' said I, 'give more surprise
Than when I chased bright butterflies,
   And missed them with my snapping hand.'

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.