Poetry

Masters Leech, Swallow, Bonesuck and Blind John

John Whitworth

 

(Masters Leech, Swallow and Bonesuck are from Thomas Middleton. Blind John has his own Collected Works.) 

 

Forget about the cash. It’s all been spent,

Squirrelled away or scattered to the wide.

They’re on our case. There’s nowhere left to hide.

Our friends are busted (most of them were bent).

Smart business plans we sweated to present,

Creditors uncompounded, threats to chide

Too tardy debtors useless, funds denied,

Calamities we struggled to prevent:

It all went bleeding pear-shaped. What we need

Is nothing now, beyond our very best

Of luck to evade the minions of the state.

Cabs to the ports with all convenient speed,

False noses, passports, plastic and the rest;

You know the drill. Head for the hills and wait.