A Fool

Says Anderson, Theosophist: 'Among the many that exist In modern halls, Some lived in ancient Egypt's clime And in their childhood saw the prime Of Karnak's walls.' Ah, Anderson, if that is true 'T is my conviction, sir, that you Are one of those That once resided by the Nile, Peer to the sacred Crocodile, Heir to his woes. My judgment is, the holy Cat Mews through your larynx (and your hat) These many years. Through you the godlike Onion brings Its melancholy sense of things, And moves to tears. In you the Bull divine again Bellows and paws the dusty plain, To nature true. I challenge not his ancient hate But, lowering my knurly pate, Lock horns with you. And though Reincarnation prove A creed too stubborn to remove, And all your school Of Theosophs I cannot scare All the more earnestly I swear That you're a fool. You'll say that this is mere abuse Without, in fraying you, a use. That's plain to see With only half an eye. Come, now, Be fair, be fair,-consider how It eases _me_!