Mine was a threeplank bed whereon
I lay and cursed the weary sun.
They took away the prison clothes
and on the frosty nights I froze.
I had a Bible where I read
that Jesus came to raise the dead-
I kept myself from going mad
by singing an old bawdy ballad
and birds sang on my windowsill
and tortured me till I was ill. (Basil Bunting)

Mine was a threeplank bed whereon I lay and cursed the weary sun. They took away the prison clothes and on the frosty nights I froze. I had a Bible where I read that Jesus came to raise the dead- I kept myself from going mad by singing an old bawdy ballad and birds sang on my windowsill and tortured me till I was ill.

Basil Bunting

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ballad bawdy bed bible came clothes dead freeze ill jesus lay mad mine prison raise read sang singing sun take till nights windowsill

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