Canada and Other Poems/Man and His Pleasures

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MAN AND HIS PLEASURES.

'Tis not with glad fruition crown'd,We always feel our greatest joy;For pleasure often dwells aroundThe heart that hopes, and knows no cloy.
We wait, we watch, we think, we planTo catch the pleasure ere it flies,But when 'tis caught, for which we ran,It often droops, perchance, it dies.
In truth the non-possession oft'Creates the chief, the only charm,Of that, which, once obtain'd, is scoft'd,And oft' receiv'd with vex'd alarm.
The mind of man is strange and deep.Deceiving others and himself;Its wiles would make an angel weep,In strife for praise, for power and pelf.
Strange mixture of the good and ill.He strives continually to bendThose qualities, with wondrous skill,To meet in one, which never blend.

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