Many a time your father gave me aid When I was down -- and now I'm down again! You mustn't take it bad, nor be dismayed To know that youngsters ought to help old men, And 'tis their duty to do that: Amen! I have no cows, no sheep, no boots, no hat! The folk who gave me presents are all dead, And all good luck died with them! Because of that I won't pay what I owe you; but, instead, I'll owe you till the dead rise from the dead. You weave good shirts; and I weave, for my bread Good poetry -- But you get paid at times! The only rap I get is on my head: But when it comes again that men like rhymes -- And pay for them -- I'll pay you for your shirt! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...JOHANNA PEDERSEN by KAREN SWENSON TO TIRZAH, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE THE THRUSH'S NEST by JOHN CLARE SESTINA OF THE TRAMP ROYAL by RUDYARD KIPLING ODES: BOOK 1: ODE 12. TO SIR FRANCIS HENRY DRAKE, BARONET by MARK AKENSIDE ANNIVERS: BAPTISMI by JOSEPH BEAUMONT |