Page:Pacchiarotto and how he worked in distemper; with other poems - Browning (1876).djvu/60

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48
AT THE 'MERMAID.'
2.
Come, be grave! The sherris mantling
Still about each mouth, mayhap,
Breeds you insight—just a scantling—
Brings me truth out—just a scrap.
Look and tell me! Written, spoken,
Here's my life-long work: and where
—Where's your warrant or my token
I'm the dead king's son and heir?

3.
Here's my work: does work discover
What was rest from work—my life?
Did I live man's hater, lover?
Leave the world at peace, at strife?