[Northkeep] Gipsy Vans

[Peter Schorn]

Unless you come of the gipsy stock 
That steals by night and day, 
Lock your heart with a double lock 
And throw the key away. 
Bury it under the blackest stone 
Beneath your father's hearth, 
And keep your eyes on your lawful own 
And your feet to the proper path. 
Then you can stand at your door and mock 
When the gipsy vans come through... 
For it isn't right that the Gorgio stock 
Should live as the Romany do. 

Unless you come of the gipsy blood 
That takes and never spares, 
Bide content with your given good 
And follow your own affairs. 
Plough and harrow and roll your land, 
And sow what ought to be sowed; 
But never let loose your heart from your hand, 
Nor flitter it down the road! 
Then you can thrive on your boughten food 
As the gipsy vans come through... 
For it isn't nature the Gorgio blood 
Should love as the Romany do. 

Unless you carry the gipsy eyes 
That see but seldom weep, 
Keep your head from the naked skies 
Or the stars'll trouble your sleep. 
Watch your moon through your window-pane 
And take what weather she brews; 
But don't run out in the midnight rain 
Nor home in the morning dews. 
Then you can huddle and shut your eyes 
As the gipsy vans come through... 
For it isn't fitting the Gorgio ryes 
Should walk as the Romany do. 

Unless you come of the gipsy race 
That counts all time the same, 
Be you careful of Time and Place 
And Judgment and Good Name: 
Lose your life for to live your life 
The way that you ought to do; 
And when you are finished, your God and your wife 
And the Gipsies'll laugh at you!

--Rudyard Kipling