Fame is a fickle food
Upon a shifting plate
Whose table once a
Guest but not
The second time is set
Whose crumbs the crows inspect
And with ironic caw
Flap past it to the Farmer's Corn
Men eat of it and die
Perhaps “ironic” here is meant to imply that the crows are tainted in some way; maybe they are fickle themselves.
Fame is a fickle food 1659