The Porcupine

Previous
Hilaire Belloc
Porcupine
What! would you slap the Porcupine?
Unhappy child—desist!
Alas! that any friend of mine
Should turn Tupto-philist.[B]

To strike the creature
To strike the meanest and the least
Of creatures is a sin,
With prickes on its skin
How much more bad to beat a beast
With prickles on its skin.

FOOTNOTE:

[B] From t?pt?=I strike; f??e?=I love; one that loves to strike. The word is not found in classical Greek, nor does it occur among the writers of the Renaissance—nor anywhere else.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Clyx.com


Top of Page
Top of Page