| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | On Fame, I | | By John Keats (1795–1821) |
| | | FAME, like a wayward girl, will still be coy | |
| To those who woo her with too slavish knees, | |
| But makes surrender to some thoughtless boy, | |
| And dotes the more upon a heart at ease; | |
| She is a Gipsy,—will not speak to those | 5 |
| Who have not learnt to be content without her; | |
| A Jilt, whose ear was never whisper’d close, | |
| Who thinks they scandal her who talk about her; | |
| A very Gipsy is she, Nilus-born, | |
| Sister-in-law to jealous Potiphar; | 10 |
| Ye love-sick Bards! repay her scorn for scorn; | |
| Ye Artists lovelorn! madmen that ye are! | |
| Make your best bow to her and bid adieu, | |
| Then, if she likes it, she will follow you. | | | | |
|
|
