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Poem by Jonathan Swift


A Rebus. By Vanessa


Cut the name of the man [1] who his mistress denied,
And let the first of it be only applied
To join with the prophet[2] who David did chide;
Then say what a horse is that runs very fast;[3]
And that which deserves to be first put the last;
Spell all then, and put them together, to find
The name and the virtues of him I design'd.
Like the patriarch in Egypt, he's versed in the state;
Like the prophet in Jewry, he's free with the great;
Like a racer he flies, to succour with speed,
When his friends want his aid, or desert is in need.

[Footnote 1: Jo-seph.]

[Footnote 2: Nathan.]

[Footnote 3: Swift.]



Jonathan Swift


Jonathan Swift's other poems:
  1. Dean Swift at Sir Arthur Acheson’s, in the North of Ireland
  2. At Holyhead
  3. Twelve Articles Addressed to Lady Acheson. 12
  4. Verses on Blenheim
  5. On an Upright Judge


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