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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PIPING, by                    
First Line: O, piper, pipe; and I shall dance
Last Line: For I must pay the piper.
Alternate Author Name(s): Alger, Mrs. Philip L.
Subject(s): Pipers


O, Piper, pipe; and I shall dance
Upon the edges of the sea,
For I am glad and young and free;
The world is all for my delight --
A ball of crystal, shining bright.
Then I must have what is for me --
And ever young and glad I'll be.
I will not heed the foolish creed
That I must pay the Piper.

Come, Piper, pipe a wilder tune
Beneath the slow, sea-rising moon.
How firm and smooth the yellow slope!
How strangely dumb the shadows grope
From out the edge of every tree
To reach the wild and dancing me.
For no still shadows do I care;
The beauty of the moonlit air
Is in my heart, and I must dance --
Yet, must I pay the Piper?

Then, Piper, pipe, and do not cease;
And when I wish for my release
I'll vanish then like quick sea-dawn,
No one to find where I have gone.
For I have always had my way --
I always dance when I am gay --
But I am swift to steal away;
I will not pay the Piper.

O, Piper, Piper, must I pay?
The gray and chilly light of day
Has caught me here -- I cannot go.
When pipings end I did not know
That I must pay all I can give;
And that is all my strength to live --
For I must pay the Piper.





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