As a Poet I Put My Heart to School

As a poet, I put my heart to school,
Listening carefully to my tutor's words.
They impressed upon me, though once a fool,
A wide girth of knowledge and no great curse.
I saw the hyacinth grow, tuft to bell,
And its sweet perfume was sweet to my nose.
For life without poetry would be hell,
So no snob of this age can turn me cold;
Though they write upon my gray epitaph:
"He was lame, and dull of mind and so dumb,"
I harmed, know this all, I harmed at the last
Through my heart's pleasing epistles no one.
For without my songs I would then turn dark
And never found God, I would not be smart.
And at last, with fortunes made I'd turn black;
And upon my good God have turned my back.
For with the knowledge of this shining craft,
I have made to God a divine road-map.
I have laughed, and shed many a clear tear
And written of peace, for two dozen years.