Song of the Master and Boatswain

 ...because I am always trying to remember this one from T. S. Eliot:

Song of the Master and Boatswain

At Dirty Dick’s and Sloppy Joe’s 

We drank our liquor straight, 

Some went upstairs with Margery, 

And some, alas, with Kate; 

And two by two like cat and mouse 

The homeless played at keeping house. 

 

There Wealthy Meg, the Sailor’s Friend, 

And Marion, cow-eyed, 

Opened their arms to me but I 

Refused to step inside; 

I was not looking for a cage 

In which to mope my old age. 

 

The nightingales are sobbing in 

The orchards of our mothers, 

And hearts that we broke long ago 

Have long been breaking others; 

Tears are round, the sea is deep: 

Roll them overboard and sleep.