A Poem.

Long Tom O’ Pepworth’s Hill
(Anonymous)



He doth not speak in parable
Or whisper soft and low,
So all the folk of Ladysmith
His ever every accent know;
For he can bend the stiffest back
And mould the strongest will,
He’s quite a little autocrat,
Long Tom o’ Pepworth’s Hill.
We listen when he speaks in wrath,
We’re braver when he cools,
Yet he is very kind to men
If somewhat rough on mules.
He brings us bounding out of bed
When we would fain lie still,
We grumble but we all obey
Long Tom o’ Pepworth’s Hill.
A breezy bluff intrusive sort,
He visits everywhere,
Sometimes he seeks your cellar cool,
Sometimes your easy chair.
Sometimes he enters by the roof,
Sometimes the window sill,
It’s vain to say you’re not at home
To Tom o’ Pepworth’s Hill.