What is a modern poet's fate?
To write his thoughts upon a slate;
The critic spits on what is done,
Gives it a wipe—and all is gone.


'To the Reviewers', dedication of Whims and Oddities (1826)


What is a modern poet's fate? To write his thoughts upon a slate; The critic spits on what is done, Gives it a wipe—and all is gone.

What is a modern poet's fate? To write his thoughts upon a slate; The critic spits on what is done, Gives it a wipe—and all is gone.

What is a modern poet's fate? To write his thoughts upon a slate; The critic spits on what is done, Gives it a wipe—and all is gone.

What is a modern poet's fate? To write his thoughts upon a slate; The critic spits on what is done, Gives it a wipe—and all is gone.