Foul

Foul is foul,

Foul is vain,

Foul makes ev’ry

Sound mind go insane.

 

Foul is evil,

Love never is spread,

Foul is cold,

Foul weaves dread.

 

The Foul submit to ambition,

And let it lead the way,

Avoiding ev’ry superstition

To live another day.

 

To the castle comes each warlike legion,

Which are hard to keep at bay.

They come to rid the place of treason-

The Foul shall always pay.

 

Foul be hanged,

Foul be wrung.

Take blades and cut out

Each foul tongue.

 

Foul makes lonely,

And kills earth and air,

So if thou art foul,

But try being fair.

-EDP

Reviews

[H L Rose]

This poem is intriguing. You paint a very ugly picture of foul. This causes me to try to decipher what exactly the definition of foul is here, because I want to know what this "foul" that I need to stay away from is.
Lines like "avoiding ev'ry superstition" and "to the castle comes each warlike legion" imply a deeper meaning that forces the reader to consider the poem further.
I will say the second sentence in the second stanza "love never is spread" feels a little off beat. But that's coming from a very inexperienced writer so don't take it too seriously cause what do I know? :p
Good Job!

[emipoemi]

Thank you! The last two lines hold the very clue to the understanding of this poem, for they contain the two most important words: "foul" and "fair". And those two words have been most famous as a pair in Shakespeare. That's all I need say. Once you've figured that out, you can read this again with more insight.

(And don't go cutting yourself short just because you appear a novice in front of someone else. No comment is stupid or weak. And you write good stuff).

[H L Rose]

Thank you for that hint! I will be looking into the significance of those words in respect to Shakespeare.