Gypsies & Travellers Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Gypsies and travellers I have known
All were generous with time and tales
Never at rest, like dropped leaves blown
Bearing the elements, storms and gales

A cornucopia, each, of songs
Merry they were but quick to rile
Bagpipe, fiddle or mandolin
Played with a tear or winsome smile

I've crossed their palms as the credulous do
(Stranger things have been done on earth)
And some of the things they told were true
And those that weren't were hardly worth

The settled folk in their rooted homes
Resent such cuckoos too near the nest
The travellers give not a hoot for that
They'll stop for a passing while to rest

Then off, for the fever to flit is strong
Off on the road with the kids and wife
Gypsies and travellers don't belong
To the stagnant house and the mortgaged life