Calendar poem of the day by P.A. De Genestet

 

Boutade

Oh land of filth and fog, of vile rain chill and stinging,

A sodden fetid plot of vapours dank and damp,

A vast expanse of mire and blocked roads clogged and clinging,

Brimful of gamps and gout, of toothache and of cramp!

Oh dreary mushy swamp, oh farmyard of galoshes,

With marsh frogs, dredgers, cobblers, mud gods overrun,

With every shape and size of duck that therein sploshes,

Receive this autumn dirge from your besnotted son!

To mud your claggy climate makes my blood set slowly;

Song, hunger, joy and peace are all withheld from me.

Pull your galoshes on, ancestral ground most holy,

You – not at my request – once wrested from the sea.