Poems by George Meredith--Volume 3
A STAVE OF ROVING TIM
(ADDRESSED TO CERTAIN FRIENDLY TRAMPS.)
I
The wind is East, the wind is West,
Blows in and out of haven;
The wind that blows is the wind that''s best,
And croak, my jolly raven!
If here awhile we jigged and laughed,
The like we will do yonder;
For he''s the man who masters a craft,
And light as a lord can wander.
So, foot the measure, Roving Tim,
And croak, my jolly raven!
The wind according to its whim
Is in and out of haven.
II
You live in rows of snug abodes,
With gold, maybe, for counting;
And mine''s the beck of the rainy roads
Against the sun a-mounting.
I take the day as it behaves,
Nor shiver when ''tis airy;
But comes a breeze, all you are on waves,
Sick chickens o'' Mother Carey!
So, now for next, cries Roving Tim,
And croak, my jolly raven!
The wind according to its whim
Is in and out of haven.
III
Sweet lass, you screw a lovely leer,
To make a man consider.
If you were up with the auctioneer,
I''d be a handsome bidder.
But wedlock clips the rover''s wing;
She tricks him fly to spider;
And when we get to fights in the Ring,
It''s trumps when you play outsider.
So, wrench and split, cries Roving Tim,
And croak, my jolly raven!
The wind according to its whim
Is in and out of haven.
IV
Along my winding way I know
A shady dell that''s winking;
The very corner for Self and Co
To do a world of thinking.
And shall I this? and shall I that?
Till Nature answers, ne''ther!
Strike match and light your pipe in your hat,
Rejoicing in sound shoe-leather!
So ...
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