Beggar To Beggar Cried
By William Butler Yeats
Time to put off the world and go somewhere
And find my health again in the sea air,
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
And make my soul before my pate is bare.
And get a comfortable wife and house
To rid me of the devil in my shoes,
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
And the worse devil that is between my thighs.
And though Id marry with a comely lass,
She need not be too comely, let it pass,
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
But theres a devil in a looking-glass.
Nor should she be too rich, because the rich
Are driven by wealth as beggars by the itch,
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
And cannot have a humorous happy speech.
And there Ill grow respected at my ease,
And hear amid the gardens nightly peace,
Beggar to beggar cried, being frenzy-struck,
The wind-blown clamour of the barnacle-geese.