Alcohol’s Requiem Upon Prof. P. F. K., a Gifted Man, Who Died a Victim of Strong Drink, par Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Alcohol’s Requiem Upon Prof. P. F. K., a Gifted Man, Who Died a Victim of Strong Drink

Ho! ho! Father Death! I have won you another!

Another grand soul I have ruined and taken;

I, who am licensed by good Christian people,

Eat and eat at their souls till by angels forsaken:

I spoil them, I soil them, and past all reclaiming

They fall, sick with sins that are too black for naming.

Ho! ho! Father Death! count me as your best man:

I bring you more souls than famine or battle.

Let pestilence rage! it will last but a season,

And the soft voice of peace stills the cannon’s loud rattle;

But I, pausing never, with ceaseless endeavor,

Night and day, day and night, I am toiling for ever.

Ho! ho! Father Death! I have brought you my thousands:

Good people help me, license, uphold me,

Gaze on some victim I stole from their household–

Gaze, and upbraid the foul demon that sold me.

Ah! but they helped him-argued and voted

Till license was granted, and I was promoted.

Ho! ho! Father Death! is he not a grand victim?

I bring you souls that are well worth the winning–

Noble and brave, with the rare gifts of heaven;

But I eat them away and pollute them with sinning.

Now, but for me there would be few above him,

Honored and prized by the dear ones who love him.

#Americans #Women #XIXCentury #XXCentury

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Ella Wheeler Wilcox