A Goodly Warning

"A Goodly Warning" by Rachel Heffington O! Time is a faerie-maid, dark is her dairy laid: Larders of mem'ry and amethyst lore. But one kiss from her lips On your lips as she slips One cold hand in your pocket will finish the chore. For her kiss it is sweet It is death, it is meat It is sharp as a bone-frost and light as a wheat In her bed, poppy-reds glimmer bright as she shreds All your best years of life into raggedy threads. O! She picks every purse with a laugh and a curse but a beggar she stays till the end of no end. For her girtle is trim From the breast to the hem; She must ever stay hungry to eat what you lend. Never thanks, never smile, Such small coinage is vile In pay for the life-years snipped off of a man. But a kiss for the road - Age and Slumber your load - And a red-lipped farewell where your trouble began. O! Time is a faerie-maid, dark is her dairy laid: Larders of mem'ry and amethyst lore But one kiss from her lips On your lips as she slips One cold hand in your pocket will finish the chore.