Review of The Oxen by Thomas Hardy

The Oxen by Thomas Hardy was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on December 24, 2012.  From a strictly structural standpoint, this Christmas-themed poem is a bit doggerel, the meter is all over the place, and the rhymes are either simple or forced.  Add to this a preachy message and somber ending, and, in my opinion, we have a poem of questionable quality here.  This is the first poem by Mr. Hardy that I have read, but if it is representative of his poetry, I would suggest that he would be better remembered as a novelist.