Venice masks

Wednesday, 4 December 2024

The Liberal says - Morris Winchevsky

The Liberal says, Jack must help him 
Because he is his friend. 
The Conservative says: My heart 
Opens to Jack today. 
The publican contends that Jack is his  
And will not let him go. 
The teetotaller shouts: I am yours 
And you are mine, dear Jack! 
One gives him tea, another gives him a drink, 
Someone else leads him in carriages: 
The primrose-women kiss, caress; 
And Jack –– he votes for them, the sheep.

Morris Winchevsky [Leopold Benzion Novokhovitch, aka Ben Netz] (1856 –1932) Lithuania (Lived in England and USA)
Translated by Vivienne Rachel Lachs
Source: Yiddish Poetry and Popular Song of London, 1884-1914: anglicisation, transnationalism and cultural controversy. Vivienne Rachel Lachs PhD thesis 2016, Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London

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