Rudyard Kipling: Sestina of the Tramp-Royal
The DayPoems Poetry Collection
Timothy Bovee, editor
www.daypoems.net



  Click on the bonsai for the next poem.



DayPoems Forum

Click to submit poems to DayPoems, comment on DayPoems or a poem within, comment on other poetry sites, update links, or simply get in touch. DayPoems Forum.

DayPoems Front

Poetry Whirl
  Rudyard Kipling in Wikipedia
  Google Rudyard Kipling
  Latest Poetry News

Indexes
  Poems
  Poets
  Editor's poems
  Poetry Places

Poetry Places
  Miroslav Holub in English Translation
  Get Beat With Zorrid
  Christina - The Bloodshot Moon
  The Poetry Page
  Teen Creativities
  Women's Exhibition: Isabella Valancy Crawford

Nodes powered by
Open Directory Project<br>at dmoz.org
Open Directory Project at dmoz.org


DayPoems Favorites

  PORT: An Online Visual Arts Journal
  A Poet on a Magical Journey Home
  Chronicles of a Sea Woman
  Parallels Studio
  Bipolar Poetry
  Mantra.X
  Poetry, Film and Books
  Poetry Archive

  Project Gutenberg, a huge collection of books as text, produced as a volunteer enterprise starting in 1990. This is the source of the first poetry placed on DayPoems.
  Tina Blue's Beginner's Guide to Prosody, exactly what the title says, and well worth reading.
  popomo.net, miniature, minimalist-inspired sculptures created from industrial cereamics, an art project at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
  pink.popomo.net, More projects from Portland
  oarena.net, Furby, Eliza, Mr_Friss and Miss_Friss.
  Save Point 0.8.1, a Portland, Oregon, exhibit, Aug. 13-Sept. 5, 2004, at Disjecta.




D
a
y
P
o
e
m
s

*
D
a
y
P
o
e
m
s

*
D
a
y
P
o
e
m
s

*
D
a
y
P
o
e
m
s

*
D
a
y
P
o
e
m
s

*
D
a
y
P
o
e
m
s

*
D
a
y
P
o
e
m
s

Click here!
Won't you help support DayPoems?

Sestina of the Tramp-Royal

Born 1865

Speakin' in general, I 'ave tried 'em all,
The 'appy roads that take you o'er the world.
Speakin' in general, I 'ave found them good
For such as cannot use one bed too long,
But must get 'ence, the same as I 'ave done,
An' go observin' matters till they die.

What do it matter where or 'ow we die,
So long as we've our 'ealth to watch it all --
The different ways that different things are done,
An' men an' women lovin' in this world --
Takin' our chances as they come along,
An' when they ain't, pretendin' they are good?

In cash or credit -- no, it aren't no good;
You 'ave to 'ave the 'abit or you'd die,
Unless you lived your life but one day long,
Nor didn't prophesy nor fret at all,
But drew your tucker some'ow from the world,
An' never bothered what you might ha' done.

But, Gawd, what things are they I 'aven't done?
I've turned my 'and to most, an' turned it good,
In various situations round the world --
For 'im that doth not work must surely die;
But that's no reason man should labour all
'Is life on one same shift; life's none so long.

Therefore, from job to job I've moved along.
Pay couldn't 'old me when my time was done,
For something in my 'ead upset me all,
Till I 'ad dropped whatever 'twas for good,
An', out at sea, be'eld the dock-lights die,
An' met my mate -- the wind that tramps the world!

It's like a book, I think, this bloomin' world,
Which you can read and care for just so long,
But presently you feel that you will die
Unless you get the page you're readin' done,
An' turn another -- likely not so good;
But what you're after is to turn 'em all.

Gawd bless this world! Whatever she 'ath done --
Excep' when awful long -- I've found it good.
So write, before I die, "'E liked it all!"


Back to top

DayPoems Poem No. 1856



Comment on DayPoems?

If you are like us, you have strong feelings about poetry, and about each poem you read. Let it all out! Comment on this poem, any poem, DayPoems, other poetry places or the art of poetry at DayPoems Feedback.



Won't you help support DayPoems?


Click here to learn more about how you can keep DayPoems on the Web . . .


Copyright

The DayPoems web site, www.daypoems.net, is copyright 2001-2006 by Timothy Keith Bovee. All rights reserved.

The authors of poetry and other material appearing on DayPoems retain full rights to their work. Any requests for publication in other venues must be negotiated separately with the authors. The editor of DayPoems will gladly attempt to assist in putting interested parties in contact with the authors.

Google DayPoems


Support DayPoems.

Buy your books here

Latest Chapbooks from Powells!!!

 
Search:
Keywords:
In Association with Amazon.com







Bonsai courtesy of
The Online Bonsai Icon Collection
http://www.hav.com/tobic.html