"ONE OF THE ONES THAT MIDAS TOUCHED" Emily Dickinson c. 1879 ============================================ One of the ones that Midas touched Who failed to touch us all Was that confiding Prodigal The reeling Oriole-- So drunk he disavows it With badinage divine-- So dazzling we mistake him For an alighting Mine-- A Pleader--a Dissembler-- An Epicure--a Thief-- Betimes an Oratorio-- An Ecstasy in chief-- The Jesuit of Orchards He cheats as he enchants Of an entire Attar For his decamping wants-- The splendor of a Burmah The Meteor of Birds, Departing like a Pageant Of Ballads and of Bards-- I never thought that Jason sought For any Golden Fleece But then I am a rural man With thoughts that make for Peace-- But if there were a Jason, Tradition bear with me Behold his lost Aggrandizement Upon the Apple Tree-- ======== ** contributory thanks to Sam Droege ** ======== ========