Black Billy Waters, at His Pitch
Rita Dove
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Adelphi Theatre, London, 1790s
All men are beggars, white or black;
some worship gold, some peddle brass.
My only house is on my back.
I play my fiddle, I stay on track,
give my peg leg—thankee sire!—a jolly thwack;
all men are beggars, white or black.
And the plink of coin in my gunny sack
is the bittersweet music in a life of lack;
my only house is on my back.
Was a soldier once, led a failed attack
in that greener country for the Union Jack.
All men are beggars, white or black.
