SMOORIN' wi' reek an' blackened wi' soot, Lowin' like Etna an' Hecla to boot, Ought o' our malleables want ye to learn?— There's chappin' an' clippin' an' sawin' o' airn; Burnin' an' sotterin', reengin' an' knockin'; Scores o' puir mortals roastin' and chokin'. Gizzen'd an' dry ilka thrapple and mouth, Like cracks in the yird in a het simmer drouth; They're prayin', puir chiels, for what do you think? It's no daily bread, it's drink, "Gi'e us drink!" "Callan," quo' I, "ye maun rin like a hatter, Bring up twa pails fu' o' clear caller water; Be aff, noo, ye imp! come back at a canter, Keep oot o' the store, or I'll fell ye @3instanter!"@1 Wae on the store an' the publican's bar, It's no a haet better—sometimes it's waur; Men, when they're het, hoo they sweat an' they swear, Coup up the whisky and toom down the beer. While droonin' their brains an' toomin' their purses The verra air rings wi' oaths an' wi' curses. It's no juist a pay or an orra bit fuddle— Aft in a day they guzzle an' muddle. The puir wifie says there's little comes till her It's the drink, it's the drink that licks up the siller. Licks up the siller! wha is't that can count, Reckon an' add up the fearfu' amount, Wasted on drink at ilk airn-makin' station— Drink, ever drink, the curse o' our nation? An' oh, siccan Sabbaths! oh, siccan weans! Rantin' an' playin' an castin' o' stanes. Hearken, thae toddlin' bit things, hoo they swear; Had I wings like a doo I wadna be here— I wad flee far awa' an' seek oot a rest Whaur drinkin' an' swearin' nae mair wad molest. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: HILDRUP TUBBS by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE BATTLE OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN [NOVEMBER 24, 1863] by GEORGE HENRY BOKER GREEN RIVER by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE HEART OF THE TREE by HENRY CUYLER BUNNER THE TESTAMENT OF CRESSEID by ROBERT HENRYSON |