Foliage: Various Poems

CHRISTMAS

     Christmas has come, let's eat and drink—
     This is no time to sit and think;
     Farewell to study, books and pen,
     And welcome to all kinds of men.
     Let all men now get rid of care,
     And what one has let others share;
     Then 'tis the same, no matter which
     Of us is poor, or which is rich.
     Let each man have enough this day,
     Since those that can are glad to pay;
     There's nothing now too rich or good
     For poor men, not the King's own food.
     Now like a singing bird my feet
     Touch earth, and I must drink and eat.
     Welcome to all men: I'll not care
     What any of my fellows wear;
     We'll not let cloth divide our souls,
     They'll swim stark naked in the bowls.
     Welcome, poor beggar: I'll not see
     That hand of yours dislodge a flea,—
     While you sit at my side and beg,
     Or right foot scratching your left leg.
     Farewell restraint: we will not now
     Measure the ale our brains allow,
     But drink as much as we can hold.
     We'll count no change when we spend gold;
     This is no time to save, but spend,
     To give for nothing, not to lend.
     Let foes make friends: let them forget
     The mischief-making dead that fret
     The living with complaint like this—
     "He wronged us once, hate him and his."
     Christmas has come; let every man
     Eat, drink, be merry all he can.
     Ale's my best mark, but if port wine
     Or whisky's yours—let it be mine;
     No matter what lies in the bowls,
     We'll make it rich with our own souls.

     And welcome to all kinds of men.