Nature and Decay: A Play
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YORUBA
The Creator
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He is patient.
He is silent.
Without anger he pronounces his judgment.
He is distant,
but his eye rests on the town.
He kills the initiate
and rouses him to new life.
He is silent.
Without anger he pronounces his judgment.
He is distant,
but his eye rests on the town.
He kills the initiate
and rouses him to new life.
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GURAGE, ETHIOPIA
O Cultivator!
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O cultivator, how great is your merit!
Wealth flows from your fingers,
The sea gushes in front of your house!
The cripple comes to your door,
You share your produce with him:
For this you receive blessing.
Wealth flows from your fingers,
The sea gushes in front of your house!
The cripple comes to your door,
You share your produce with him:
For this you receive blessing.
**
The orphan comes to your door,
You share your produce with him:
For this you receive blessing.
You share your produce with him:
For this you receive blessing.
**
The ants will not eat your fingers.
When you die, you are destined for Paradise:
If you live on, you are destined for blessing!
When you die, you are destined for Paradise:
If you live on, you are destined for blessing!
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IGBO
Poem of Initiation into Elite Ozo society:
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I am:
The Camel that brings wealth,
The Land that breeds the Ngwu tree,
The Performer in the period of youth,
The Back that carries its brother,
The Tiger that drives away the elephants,
The Height that is fruitful,
Brotherhood that is mystic,
Cutlass that cuts thick bushes,
The Hoe that is famous,
The Feeder of the soil with yams,
The Charm that crowns with glory,
The Forest that towers highest,
The Flood that cannot be impeded,
The Sea that cannot be drained.
The Camel that brings wealth,
The Land that breeds the Ngwu tree,
The Performer in the period of youth,
The Back that carries its brother,
The Tiger that drives away the elephants,
The Height that is fruitful,
Brotherhood that is mystic,
Cutlass that cuts thick bushes,
The Hoe that is famous,
The Feeder of the soil with yams,
The Charm that crowns with glory,
The Forest that towers highest,
The Flood that cannot be impeded,
The Sea that cannot be drained.
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IGBO
Admiration of a young girl
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Young lady, you are
A mirror that must not go out in the sun,
A child that must not be touched by dew,
A mirror that must not go out in the sun,
A child that must not be touched by dew,
**
One that is dressed up in hair,
A lamp with which people find their way,
A lamp with which people find their way,
**
A moon that shines bright,
An eagle-feather worn by a husband,
A straight line drawn by God.
An eagle-feather worn by a husband,
A straight line drawn by God.
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ZULU
The Bridal’s Arrival
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Three Zulu songs,
very commonly sung by members of the bridegroom’s
family,
welcoming the bride in teasing terms to her new
home.
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I
**
You have reached the place of weariness,
You have arrived and you will get weary!
You have left your father’s house,
You have deserted the hut of your mother.
You have arrived and you will get weary!
You have left your father’s house,
You have deserted the hut of your mother.
**
II
**
You will need a rope to tether him!
I-yo-i tshi-tshi-tshi!
You will have to tie him up!
If you want to call him husband
You will have to tie him up!
I-yo-i tshi-tshi-tshi!
You will have to tie him up!
If you want to call him husband
You will have to tie him up!
**
III
**
Hey, young bride!
Yes?
Let’s go and draw water.
I’m not going, I’m ill.
Hey, young bride! You’re wanted in the bridal chamber!
Lazy little lump goes toddling off!
Little bandy-legs goes toddling off!
Yes?
Let’s go and draw water.
I’m not going, I’m ill.
Hey, young bride! You’re wanted in the bridal chamber!
Lazy little lump goes toddling off!
Little bandy-legs goes toddling off!
**
Hey, young bride!
Yes?
Let’s go and cultivate.
I’m not going, I’m ill.
Hey, young bride! You’re wanted in the bridal chamber!
Lazy little lump goes toddling off!
Little bandy-legs goes toddling off!
Yes?
Let’s go and cultivate.
I’m not going, I’m ill.
Hey, young bride! You’re wanted in the bridal chamber!
Lazy little lump goes toddling off!
Little bandy-legs goes toddling off!
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HAUSA
The Bride’s Departure
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I
**
From this year, you won’t go dancing,
From this year, you won’t go to the dance,
From this year, you won’t go dancing,
You’ll dance only on the path to the river.
From where you’re tossing cowrie-shells,
From where you’re tossing cowrie-shells,
From your compound you’ll hear our drumming under the silk-cotton tree,
But you won’t be able to come.
From this year, you won’t go to the dance,
From this year, you won’t go dancing,
You’ll dance only on the path to the river.
From where you’re tossing cowrie-shells,
From where you’re tossing cowrie-shells,
From your compound you’ll hear our drumming under the silk-cotton tree,
But you won’t be able to come.
**
II
**
The lucky one, the favourite,
The lucky one of the kin,
The lucky one was betrothed,
The lucky one got her!
Resign yourself, patient girl!
Marriage is an ill you can’t revenge,
Only death will bring relief!
The lucky one of the kin,
The lucky one was betrothed,
The lucky one got her!
Resign yourself, patient girl!
Marriage is an ill you can’t revenge,
Only death will bring relief!
**
III
**
You have had your gifts,
Get to your house,
Go and taste the chickens of your husband’s house!
The great hunt was a good hunt,
The great hunt brought meat:
In the great hunt we caught,
(The great hunt was a good hunt),
We caught, we caught,
Ten hares, ten ground squirrels,
Ten buffaloes, ten gazelles,
Ten elephants, ten antelopes,
And ten hyenas! We caught them!
The great hunt was good!
Get to your house,
Go and taste the chickens of your husband’s house!
The great hunt was a good hunt,
The great hunt brought meat:
In the great hunt we caught,
(The great hunt was a good hunt),
We caught, we caught,
Ten hares, ten ground squirrels,
Ten buffaloes, ten gazelles,
Ten elephants, ten antelopes,
And ten hyenas! We caught them!
The great hunt was good!
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YORUBA
Iwi: Owner of Yam
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The owner of yam peels his yam in the house:
A neighbour knocks at the door.
The owner of yam throws his yam in the bedroom:
The neighbour says, ‘I just heard
A sound, kerekere, that’s why I came.’
The owner of yam replies,
‘That was nothing, I was sharpening two knives.’
The neighbour says again, ‘I still heard
Something like bi sound behind your door.’
The owner of yam says,
‘I merely tried my door with a mallet.’
The neighbour says again,
‘What about this huge fire burning on your hearth?’
The fellow replies,
‘I am merely warming water for my bath.’
The neighbour persists,
‘Why is your skin all white, when this is not the Harmattan season?’
The fellow is ready with his reply,
‘I was rolling on the floor when I heard of the death of Agadapidi.’
Then the neighbour says, ‘Peace be with you.’
Then the owner of yam starts to shout,
‘There cannot be peace
Unless the owner of food is allowed to eat his own food!’
A neighbour knocks at the door.
The owner of yam throws his yam in the bedroom:
The neighbour says, ‘I just heard
A sound, kerekere, that’s why I came.’
The owner of yam replies,
‘That was nothing, I was sharpening two knives.’
The neighbour says again, ‘I still heard
Something like bi sound behind your door.’
The owner of yam says,
‘I merely tried my door with a mallet.’
The neighbour says again,
‘What about this huge fire burning on your hearth?’
The fellow replies,
‘I am merely warming water for my bath.’
The neighbour persists,
‘Why is your skin all white, when this is not the Harmattan season?’
The fellow is ready with his reply,
‘I was rolling on the floor when I heard of the death of Agadapidi.’
Then the neighbour says, ‘Peace be with you.’
Then the owner of yam starts to shout,
‘There cannot be peace
Unless the owner of food is allowed to eat his own food!’
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ZULU
Woman’s Self Praise
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I
**
I am she who cuts across the game reserve
That no girl crosses.
I am the boldest of the bold, outfacer of wizards.
Obstinate perseverer,
The nation swore at me and ate their words.
She cold-shoulders kings and despises mere commoners.
That no girl crosses.
I am the boldest of the bold, outfacer of wizards.
Obstinate perseverer,
The nation swore at me and ate their words.
She cold-shoulders kings and despises mere commoners.
**
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DINKA, SOUTH SUDAN
Dinka Song
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Commenting in satirical fashion on the vanity and
greed of the gentleman in question.
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I saw a gentleman the other day:
He had coils on his lower arm,
And an ivory bangle on his upper arm;
Then he filled his spoon.
Gentleman, do you feel no shame?
What three things the man lifted!
He had coils on his lower arm,
And an ivory bangle on his upper arm;
Then he filled his spoon.
Gentleman, do you feel no shame?
What three things the man lifted!
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SHONA, ZIMBABWE
The Bad Wife
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The mother of my wife has guardian spirits like to
mine.
On seeing me, she will give me her whole barn.
The mother who bore me is left far behind.
If I but cough, I am given last night’s porridge,
I mention water and am given strong-brewed beer,
I sneeze and sweet beer I am given,
And if I yawn she gives me sweet potatoes.
What is there which does not reach my mouth
When there is a piece of dried meat, or a piece of honey-cake,
A portion of rice, some eggs or a couple of field-mice?
Truly, my mother-in-law is a generous giver.
When she is giving to me, you would think it was to a weanling.
On seeing me, she will give me her whole barn.
The mother who bore me is left far behind.
If I but cough, I am given last night’s porridge,
I mention water and am given strong-brewed beer,
I sneeze and sweet beer I am given,
And if I yawn she gives me sweet potatoes.
What is there which does not reach my mouth
When there is a piece of dried meat, or a piece of honey-cake,
A portion of rice, some eggs or a couple of field-mice?
Truly, my mother-in-law is a generous giver.
When she is giving to me, you would think it was to a weanling.
**
Having said that, now let us turn to my wife
herself, ah, frail beauty by nature and name,
Precious but fleeting, beauty as of a child born before time.
When subjects see her they greet her and say,
‘Good-day, graceful lady on whom flies fear to alight,
And if they do, the tail of a zebra would be your whisk.
The tail of a beast for whisk would make you cough.
In olden days we would strip off bark for a blanket,
Such as the people raised in the days of the Uprising,
So that it came to be called a raiser.
One like a rocky hollow yielding plenteous sorghum,
Tree that does not change from summer to winter,
Relish that needs neither seasoning nor salt.’
Precious but fleeting, beauty as of a child born before time.
When subjects see her they greet her and say,
‘Good-day, graceful lady on whom flies fear to alight,
And if they do, the tail of a zebra would be your whisk.
The tail of a beast for whisk would make you cough.
In olden days we would strip off bark for a blanket,
Such as the people raised in the days of the Uprising,
So that it came to be called a raiser.
One like a rocky hollow yielding plenteous sorghum,
Tree that does not change from summer to winter,
Relish that needs neither seasoning nor salt.’
**
Enough, the elders have told us,
‘A goat that eats the mufenje bush is thereby like its mother.’
Her gifts come so thick that you think them an omen.
Thus this woman has no ordinary presence,
And when she walks, what firm and graceful movement!
When she breaks into a laugh, the heavens respond,
To give people on earth a glimpse of their happiness too.
What she cooks and eats is good with its own flavour.
Standing and sitting carry the same grave rhythm,
Such as is owned by none other in this land.
So mine is personable as a great hare of the valleys,
Not to be compared with your lean hare of the sands.
‘A goat that eats the mufenje bush is thereby like its mother.’
Her gifts come so thick that you think them an omen.
Thus this woman has no ordinary presence,
And when she walks, what firm and graceful movement!
When she breaks into a laugh, the heavens respond,
To give people on earth a glimpse of their happiness too.
What she cooks and eats is good with its own flavour.
Standing and sitting carry the same grave rhythm,
Such as is owned by none other in this land.
So mine is personable as a great hare of the valleys,
Not to be compared with your lean hare of the sands.
**
Let her walk, she seems to be melting and
strengthless.
When she rises, it is when the sun is high in the heavens.
If sick for three days, you would think she had lain for a year.
As for her cooking of porridge, it never gets further than gruel.
Her meat is barely fried as for those departing for battle.
Her beer is bitter and mixed without any proportion.
Cooking of pumpkin leaves gets as far as cooking for keeping.
Her body a stranger to water, save when its owner is drinking;
Mine is at home in the water, a friend to the fish.
Give me an ox, my friend, that your wife may be taught to cook!
When she rises, it is when the sun is high in the heavens.
If sick for three days, you would think she had lain for a year.
As for her cooking of porridge, it never gets further than gruel.
Her meat is barely fried as for those departing for battle.
Her beer is bitter and mixed without any proportion.
Cooking of pumpkin leaves gets as far as cooking for keeping.
Her body a stranger to water, save when its owner is drinking;
Mine is at home in the water, a friend to the fish.
Give me an ox, my friend, that your wife may be taught to cook!
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YORUBA
Iwi: As War Nears
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The star is trying to outshine the moon,
The frog is preparing a trick to get wings,
The one who wears a cotton dress pretends to wear velvet,
The one who is wearing velvet pretends to be a king.
We all try to do
What God never intends us to do.
Watch out, ‘We shall catch and kill’
Is what we cry when we go to the battlefield:
We tend to forget that we shall meet another man there
Uttering the same cry.
When Death is far away,
We may protect our child with aja charm:
When Death arrives,
He tears the aja from his neck
And carries the child along.
The frog is preparing a trick to get wings,
The one who wears a cotton dress pretends to wear velvet,
The one who is wearing velvet pretends to be a king.
We all try to do
What God never intends us to do.
Watch out, ‘We shall catch and kill’
Is what we cry when we go to the battlefield:
We tend to forget that we shall meet another man there
Uttering the same cry.
When Death is far away,
We may protect our child with aja charm:
When Death arrives,
He tears the aja from his neck
And carries the child along.
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YORUBA
Ogun, or War
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Ogun kills on the right and destroys on the right.
Ogun kills on the left and destroys on the left.
Ogun kills suddenly in the house and suddenly in the field.
Ogun kills the child with the iron with which it plays.
Ogun kills on the left and destroys on the left.
Ogun kills suddenly in the house and suddenly in the field.
Ogun kills the child with the iron with which it plays.
**
Ogun kills the thief and the owner of the stolen
goods.
Ogun-kills the owner of the slave—and the slave runs away.
Ogun kills the owner of thirty iwofa —and his money, wealth and children disappear.
Ogun kills the owner of the house and paints the hearth with his blood.
Ogun is the death who pursues a child until it runs into the bush.
Ogun is the needle that pricks at both ends.
Ogun has water but he washes in blood.
Ogun do not fight me. I belong only to you.
Ogun-kills the owner of the slave—and the slave runs away.
Ogun kills the owner of thirty iwofa —and his money, wealth and children disappear.
Ogun kills the owner of the house and paints the hearth with his blood.
Ogun is the death who pursues a child until it runs into the bush.
Ogun is the needle that pricks at both ends.
Ogun has water but he washes in blood.
Ogun do not fight me. I belong only to you.
**
Ogun has many gowns. He gives them all to the
beggars.
He gives one to the woodcock — the woodcock dyes it indigo.
He gives one to the coucal — coucal dyes it in camwood.
He gives one to the cattle egret — the cattle egret leaves it white.
He gives one to the woodcock — the woodcock dyes it indigo.
He gives one to the coucal — coucal dyes it in camwood.
He gives one to the cattle egret — the cattle egret leaves it white.
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KAFA HIGHLANDS,
ETHIOPIA
Gonga Praise Poem
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The poem records the drama of a
succession dispute.
Tumi Taki, the king of the Hinnaro
people,
was overthrown by his wife Sini
who wanted to make her lover Sisi
(or Sisiti) the new king.
Sisi, however, was offered the
crown by the counsellors
only on condition that
he abandoned Sini,
which he refused to do,
choosing his mistress rather than
the throne.
The poem expresses deep contempt
for Sisiti’s lack of concern for the people,
and is a good example of how
Praise-Poetry may be used to express sharp criticism of bad rulers.
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SINI
After the death of Gamma Kegocci,
Tumi Taki has left me empty-handed.
There are cows full of milk,
But he never instructs the people to milk them.
There are beehives full of honey,
But he never instructs the people to empty them.
There are oxen ready for ploughing,
But he never orders the people to harness them.
He has become just like a commoner!
He has become just like a medium!
Since he has become king
Sorghum does not grow:
Since he has become king
Cows do not give milk:
Since he has become king
The royal trumpet is hardly blown.
I am surrounded by weeds,
I am surrounded by maskal flowers.
Let Sisiti become king,
Let Sisiti become king
And make the country greater!
The kingship would be in good hands with him.
After the death of Gamma Kegocci,
Tumi Taki has left me empty-handed.
There are cows full of milk,
But he never instructs the people to milk them.
There are beehives full of honey,
But he never instructs the people to empty them.
There are oxen ready for ploughing,
But he never orders the people to harness them.
He has become just like a commoner!
He has become just like a medium!
Since he has become king
Sorghum does not grow:
Since he has become king
Cows do not give milk:
Since he has become king
The royal trumpet is hardly blown.
I am surrounded by weeds,
I am surrounded by maskal flowers.
Let Sisiti become king,
Let Sisiti become king
And make the country greater!
The kingship would be in good hands with him.
**
SISITI
Your figure is pleasing
Like the fat tail of a sheep:
The sight of your hips is pleasing,
The gums of your teeth are pleasing,
Like the fat tail of a sheep.
My lady, who gives me butter,
My lady, who dresses so well,
My lady, who wears colourful garb,
My lady, who wears fine cloth,
Do you ask me to leave her?
Do you ask me to lose my love?
Would that you lose your oxen grazing in pasture!
Would that your oxen leave their stalls!
Would that your cows leave their stalls!
Would that your barley leave your fields!
Would that your teff grains leave your fields!
Your figure is pleasing
Like the fat tail of a sheep:
The sight of your hips is pleasing,
The gums of your teeth are pleasing,
Like the fat tail of a sheep.
My lady, who gives me butter,
My lady, who dresses so well,
My lady, who wears colourful garb,
My lady, who wears fine cloth,
Do you ask me to leave her?
Do you ask me to lose my love?
Would that you lose your oxen grazing in pasture!
Would that your oxen leave their stalls!
Would that your cows leave their stalls!
Would that your barley leave your fields!
Would that your teff grains leave your fields!
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HAUSA
Malam Aliyu na Mangi
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We give thanks to the Lord of the Worlds
for the bounty bestowed on us in no small measure.
We rejoice in the rule of the English,
for since they came our country has not known poverty;
For in their time we have been brought paper money,
which does not weigh down the pocket.
So too through their kindness we have received the aeroplane,
so that you go to Mecca without trouble.
Then there are motor-cycles, cars and the rest,
which in the old days were unknown to us.
If you have to travel, look for a lorry
if you don’t coincide with a railway.
But if there’s neither train nor motor,
then go on your feet and not on a shameless bicycle.
Just leave the bicycle to me!
You wicked trouble-maker, you!
Thing not fit for an adult to ride!
for the bounty bestowed on us in no small measure.
We rejoice in the rule of the English,
for since they came our country has not known poverty;
For in their time we have been brought paper money,
which does not weigh down the pocket.
So too through their kindness we have received the aeroplane,
so that you go to Mecca without trouble.
Then there are motor-cycles, cars and the rest,
which in the old days were unknown to us.
If you have to travel, look for a lorry
if you don’t coincide with a railway.
But if there’s neither train nor motor,
then go on your feet and not on a shameless bicycle.
Just leave the bicycle to me!
You wicked trouble-maker, you!
Thing not fit for an adult to ride!
**
It was at Dan Mahawayi that I got on,
but it left me at Tudun Yakaji and I never reached town.
It left me sore all over, sitting on the road,
and afterwards the Friday mosque took place without my presence!
Money I gave it, hard cash aplenty, one and six,
for the bicycle wouldn’t allow me a reduction of even a halfpenny.
Yes, for I said to it, ‘Bicycle, please be lenient’,
but it said, ‘Malam, it seems then that you don’t know me.
I have vices five: the first is a puncture,
when I fire a gun but not with flame
And sear the heart and cause the feet to go off in the bush,
as if I was not making the journey;
Or else, as we go along, I wrench my head away so we fall into the ditch
- but I don’t care!
My stomach is called a “gear-case”
- impertinence to ride something you haven’t bought!
My guts are a chain that grabs hold of a gown and we snatch off the rider
- I don’t care!
Yet another trouble comes when we reach a plank bridge
- a rickety one – and I decide that we won’t go across,
But that I’ll get up on the shoulders of my rider and sit there,
as if he had never mounted on me.’
but it left me at Tudun Yakaji and I never reached town.
It left me sore all over, sitting on the road,
and afterwards the Friday mosque took place without my presence!
Money I gave it, hard cash aplenty, one and six,
for the bicycle wouldn’t allow me a reduction of even a halfpenny.
Yes, for I said to it, ‘Bicycle, please be lenient’,
but it said, ‘Malam, it seems then that you don’t know me.
I have vices five: the first is a puncture,
when I fire a gun but not with flame
And sear the heart and cause the feet to go off in the bush,
as if I was not making the journey;
Or else, as we go along, I wrench my head away so we fall into the ditch
- but I don’t care!
My stomach is called a “gear-case”
- impertinence to ride something you haven’t bought!
My guts are a chain that grabs hold of a gown and we snatch off the rider
- I don’t care!
Yet another trouble comes when we reach a plank bridge
- a rickety one – and I decide that we won’t go across,
But that I’ll get up on the shoulders of my rider and sit there,
as if he had never mounted on me.’
**
Bicycle and Saalè disputed on the bridge and it
said,
‘For shame, Saalè! Of course I won’t throw you!’
But as they tipped over, it jerked its head free and
- dear me, isn’t that Saalè down in the water there?
It followed him, pushing and hitting, saying,
‘Now anyone can come and see whether I haven’t thrown you!’
And it was only when Malam Saalè had managed
to strip off his gown that he escaped getting a bellyful of water.
He got up and climbed on the bank.
The bicycle followed him,
for it hadn’t let go of his gown.
Then Malam Sanda and the others
gathered round the bicycle coaxing it,
but it refused to let go,
Swearing by Train and Motorcar
**
‘For shame, Saalè! Of course I won’t throw you!’
But as they tipped over, it jerked its head free and
- dear me, isn’t that Saalè down in the water there?
It followed him, pushing and hitting, saying,
‘Now anyone can come and see whether I haven’t thrown you!’
And it was only when Malam Saalè had managed
to strip off his gown that he escaped getting a bellyful of water.
He got up and climbed on the bank.
The bicycle followed him,
for it hadn’t let go of his gown.
Then Malam Sanda and the others
gathered round the bicycle coaxing it,
but it refused to let go,
Swearing by Train and Motorcar
**
Then Malam Sanda came to an agreement with the
bicycle,
professing to like it but apprehensive of its tricks
As it said, ‘Absurd! A leading malam like you?
Why, I couldn’t throw an important malam!
But if you mount me,
you must gather together your gown and trousers
and not ride with the voluminous flamboyance of rank!’
So he got on,
but still failed to gather in his clothes,
and before many minutes had passed it whipped the malam off.
Almost immediately threw him down
in the middle of his compound in front of his wives,
before he could reach the dabee.
professing to like it but apprehensive of its tricks
As it said, ‘Absurd! A leading malam like you?
Why, I couldn’t throw an important malam!
But if you mount me,
you must gather together your gown and trousers
and not ride with the voluminous flamboyance of rank!’
So he got on,
but still failed to gather in his clothes,
and before many minutes had passed it whipped the malam off.
Almost immediately threw him down
in the middle of his compound in front of his wives,
before he could reach the dabee.
**
Says the bicycle,
‘Wait, I’ve made a mistake in throwing you off, malam,
since I didn’t take you to the outskirts of the market,
For I don’t like to throw off an honest citizen
except where people can have a good laugh,
And all your bell-ringing and brake-grabbing
won’t stop me chucking you off either!’
The other replied, ‘Well, I’m not riding you again, bicycle,’
but the bicycle answered, ‘San fairy ann, what do I care?
Whether you ride me or don’t ride me is all one to me
- neither will do me any harm that I can see.
Hasty riding or wrenching me about
won’t take you immediately where you want to be,
But if you mount me, first giving me air to drink,
there is nowhere where I won’t take you.’
So you see,
no one will have a comfortable ride on a bicycle
who can’t bring himself to wear his shirt tucked into his trousers.
‘Wait, I’ve made a mistake in throwing you off, malam,
since I didn’t take you to the outskirts of the market,
For I don’t like to throw off an honest citizen
except where people can have a good laugh,
And all your bell-ringing and brake-grabbing
won’t stop me chucking you off either!’
The other replied, ‘Well, I’m not riding you again, bicycle,’
but the bicycle answered, ‘San fairy ann, what do I care?
Whether you ride me or don’t ride me is all one to me
- neither will do me any harm that I can see.
Hasty riding or wrenching me about
won’t take you immediately where you want to be,
But if you mount me, first giving me air to drink,
there is nowhere where I won’t take you.’
So you see,
no one will have a comfortable ride on a bicycle
who can’t bring himself to wear his shirt tucked into his trousers.
vvvv
vvvv
vvvv
vvvv
END.
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