Even the shrewd and bitter,
 Gnarled by the old world's greed,
 Cherished the stranger softly
 Seeing his utter need.
 Shelter and patient hearing,
 These were their gifts to him,
 To the minstrel chanting, begging,
 As the sunset-fire grew dim.
 The rich said "you are welcome."
 Yea, even the rich were good.
 How strange that in their feasting
 His songs were understood!
 The doors of the poor were open,
 The poor who had wandered too,
 Who slept with never a roof-tree
 Under the wind and dew.
 The minds of the poor were open,
 There dark mistrust was dead:
 They loved his wizard stories,
 They bought his rhymes with bread.

 Those were his days of glory,
 Of faith in his fellow-men.
 Therefore to-day the singer
 Turns beggar once again.

Commenting on Stevenson’s “The Vagabond” [Poem #780], a less-than-charmed reader said

I think the poem stinks! It is the tale of a totally selfish bum! It speaks of an existence that leads no where, with no purpose……..not even a desire for love! Pure trash IMO. Perhaps value can be salvaged by making it the example of ‘what not to be…do…think..believe..etc

Well, I don’t agree with him, but nor can I deny that it is a perfectly valid reading of the poem. However, I was also reminded of today’s poem, which sings of a much more “human” aspect of the joys of the road, of the kindness extended to a stranger and the appreciation of the wandering minstrel’s art.

Lindsay’s poetry is very reminiscent of Kipling’s, both for his appreciation of the rhythmic aspects of poetry and for the nature and diversity of the subjects he tackled. (And, in passing, for the accusations of racism levelled against him by a more enlightened generation; accusations that are often founded in little more than his being a product of his times, and for having had the temerity to outlast them.) Unlike with Kipling, I can’t read too much of Lindsay in one sitting, but in short doses I find him both pleasurable and thought provoking. Today’s quietly restrained poem is an excellent example of both aspects.

— Martin