Having made communion late, some strychnine;
— To the Jew a fake nose, less comical than his own;
— During the grog, before the mortal cinch,
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An aphrodisiac to the hanged man; — billows
To one who fences against a refractory fire
In the fireplace; — to one who takes from a book, august elder,
An idyllic flower, an iron roller-press;
— To one who, shrewd, leaves in peace a spider one evening,
Assuring himself a happy stroll, an amulet;
— When in leather gloves towards the holy water she advances
Her rebellious middle finger, to the devout, a charm
Against dissipation; — when the express, wagon by wagon,
Overtakes a goods train, to someone watching the race,
A prognostic; — at night when, in his hut,
Hes getting ready for bed, to the black man, hair curlers;
— When, stomping the ground, into his engorged fingers
Breathes a wheezing dyspeptic, a stink
Ball to one who, close, speaks to him; — a day without swell
To the steamship captain who, anticipating, dares hitch a sail;
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— To the pedestrian whom a saddled horse without rider
Has just passed, a double half-whallop to the spine;
— To the tailormaid, in June, who, sewing without a machine,
Sucks a pricked phalanx, a rose to hold;