To A Child

To A Child
1753

Thou lovest me for what I am; and naught
It matters what I wear or give Thine eyes
Sound all the depths of life’s dishonesties
Gold cannot tempt thee Thou canst not be bought
Thy favor must be won by worth, not sought
With sweetmeats or the larger bribes of lies
Pretence doth utter By the thin disguise
Of garb or station thou art never caught –
Thou never judgest by the hollow ring
Of purses May I never fall to meet
The great rebuke of thy deserved disdain
So from thy trust shall I sincereness bring;
So shall mine unbetraying soul remain
Unlured by guile, unnetted by deceit