Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Severn strode,
\nThe rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road.
\nA reeling road, a rolling road, that rambles round the shire,
\nAnd after him the parson ran, the sexton and the squire;
\nA merry road, a mazy road, and such as we did tread
\nThe night we went to Birmingham by way of Beachy Head.<\/p>\n
I knew no harm of Bonaparte and plenty of the Squire,
\nAnd for to fight the Frenchman I did not much desire;
\nBut I did bash their baggonets because they came arrayed
\nTo straighten out the crooked road an English drunkard made,
\nWhere you and I went down the lane with ale-mugs in our hands,
\nThe night we went to Glastonbury by way of Goodwin Sands.<\/p>\n
His sins they were forgiven him; or why do flowers run
\nBehind him; and the hedges all strengthening in the sun?
\nThe wild thing went from left to right and knew not which was which,
\nBut the wild rose was above him when they found him in the ditch.
\nGod pardon us, nor harden us; we did not see so clear
\nThe night we went to Bannockburn by way of Brighton Pier.<\/p>\n
My friends, we will not go again or ape an ancient rage,
\nOr stretch the folly of our youth to be the shame of age,
\nBut walk with clearer eyes and ears this path that wandereth,
\nAnd see undrugged in evening light the decent inn of death;
\nFor there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen,
\nBefore we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is a poem that begs to be recited aloud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[143],"tags":[1143,242],"class_list":["post-6405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-poet","tag-poem","tag-poetry"],"yoast_head":"\n