Courting Danger

                                                                    The Sleeping Gypsy, 1897, by Henri Rousseau

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

True to his expected calling

A tired gypsy roaming

Takes to forty winks

In the cool desert winds

For company a mandolin

A pitcher for drinking

And the moon above shining

A wooden staff in his hands

A likely item for defense

Presence under such pretense

Can be an outright offense

Stumbling onto a lion’s den

May cause a likely end

For Tess' Magpie Tales #209