Epitaph
by John Millington Synge
After reading Ronsard’s lines from Rabelais
If fruits are fed on any beast
Let vine-roots suck this parish priest,
For while he lived, no summer sun
Went up but he’d a bottle done,
And in the starlight beer and stout
Kept his waistcoat bulging out.
Then Death that changes happy things
Damned his soul to water springs.
About the Author:
Irish poet, playwright, travel writer, folklorist, and ethnographer John Millington Synge (1871-1909), one of the founders of Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, is best known for “The Playboy of the Western World,” which outraged many audience members and induced riots at its first two performances in January 1907.
