1At snuff no Cornish sailorman would sneeze
2when masons clutch the breath we held on loan
3old corned-beef’s rusty armour spreads disease
4one gathers rosebuds or grows old alone

5And yet ’twas he the beggar Fate just flings
6were pots graffiti’d over by a slave
7a daring baron pockets precious Mings
8thou homestead hillside woodland rock and cave

9Emboggled minds may puff and blow and guess
10what things we did we went the whole darned hog
11poor Yorick comes to bury not address

12We’ll suffocate before the epilogue
13where no one bothered how one warmed one’s bum
14they’re kings we’re mammal-cousins hi ho hum