In blackest gloom he cursed his lot;
His breath was one long weary sigh;
His brows were gathered in a knot
That only baccy could untie.
His oldest pipe was scraped out clean;
The deuce a puff was left him there;
A hollow sucking sound of air
Was all he got his lips between.
He only said, -My life is dreary.
The Baccy's done,â? he said.
He said, -I am aweary, aweary;
By Jove, I'm nearly dead.â?
The chimney-piece he searched in vain,
Into each pocket plunged his fist;
His cheek was blanched with weary pain,
His mouth awry for want of twist.
He idled with his baccy-knife;
He had no care for daily bread:-
A single stick of Negro-head
Would be to him the staff of life.
He only said, -My life is dreary.
The Baccy's done,â? he said.
He said, -I am aweary, aweary
I'd most as soon be dead.â?
Books had no power to mend his grief;
The magazines could tempt no more;
-Cut Gold-Leafâ? was the only leaf
That he had cared to ponder o'er.
From chair to sofa sad he swings,
And then from sofa back to chair;
But in the depth of his despair
Can catch no -bird's-eyeâ? view of things.
And still he said, -My life is dreary.
No Baccy, boys,â? he said.
He said, -I am aweary, aweary;
I'd just as soon be dead.â?
His meals go by he knows not how;
No taste in flesh, or fowl, or fish;
There's not a dish could tempt him now,
Except a cake of Caven-dish.
His life is but a weary drag;
He cannot choose but curse and swear,
And thrust his fingers through his hair,
All shaggy in the want of shag.
And still he said, -My life is dreary,
No Baccy, boys,â? he said.
He said, -I am aweary, aweary;
I'd rather far be dead.â?
To him one end of old cheroot
Were sweetest root that ever grew.
No honey were due substitute
For -Our Superior Honey-Dew.â?
One little fig of Latakia
Would buy all fruits of Paradise;
-Prince Alfred's Mixtureâ? fetch a price
Above both Prince and Galatea.
Sudden he said, -No more be dreary!
The dray has come!â? he said.
He said, -I'll smoke till I am weary-
And then, I'll go to bed.â?
The Squatter's Baccy Famine
James Brunton Stephens
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Poem topics: breath, despair, fish, grief, hair, pain, power, sad, bird, head, long, single, knife, mouth, clean, depth, paradise, gold, bread, taste, Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
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