Old Assyrian--Jonah

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Title:     Old Assyrian--Jonah
Author: Joseph Victor Scheffel [More Titles by Scheffel]

Im schwarzen Wallfisch zu Ascalon
Da trank ein Mann drei Tag',
Bis dass er steif wie ein Besenstiel
Am Marmortische lag.

In the Black Whale at Ascalon
A man drank day by day,
Till, stiff as any broom-handle,
Upon the floor he lay.

In the Black Whale at Ascalon
The landlord said: 'I say,
He's drinking of my date-juice wine
Much more than he can pay!'

In the Black Whale at Ascalon
The waiters brought the bill,
In arrow-heads on six broad tiles
To him who thus did swill.

In the Black Whale at Ascalon
The guest cried out: 'O woe!
I spent in the Lamb at Nineveh
My money long ago!'

In the Black Whale at Ascalon
The clock struck half-past four
When the Nubian porter he did pitch
The stranger from the door.

In the Black Whale at Ascalon
No prophet hath renown;
And he who there would drink in peace
Must pay the money down.

[The end]
Joseph Victor Scheffel's poem: Old Assyrian--Jonah

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