[HerenIstarion]

Sing hey! for the bath at close of day
that washes the weary mud away!
A loon is he that will not sing:
O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,
and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;
but better than rain or rippling streams
is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need
down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;
but better is Beer, if drink we lack,
and Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high
in a fountain white beneath the sky;
but never did fountain sound so sweet
as splashing Hot Water with my feet!


***


Be not lorn! We splash in the mud at morn!
That bakes our skin into scale and horn
Wiseman is he that springs into dirt
Tearing off his pants and shirt!

O! Bitter is thought of the burning fire
And swelling heat to dry the mire
For good is swamp to stroll along
Of leeches and slime we sing a song!

O! Hungry one may devour some bread
Or salad fresh with a gulp of dread
But better is ooze and tadpoles green
Some newts, some snakes and a toad’s splin!

O! Sun may shine in the sky above
But better is shade down the chilly cove
For mucous floor and leaking walls
Are better than any nobleman’s halls!