An’ it all went into the laundry, But it never came out in the wash. We were sugared about by the old men (Panicky, perishin’ old men) That ’amper an’ ’inder an’ scold men For fear o’ Stellenbosh! HALF-BALLAD OF WATERVAL [Page 102] When by the labour of my ’ands I’ve ’elped to pack a transport tight With prisoners for foreign lands, I ain’t transported with delight. I know it’s only just an’ right, But yet it somehow sickens me, For I ’ave learned at Waterval The meanin’ of captivity. Be’ind the pegged barb-wire strands, Beneath the tall electric light, We used to walk in bare-’ead bands, Explainin’ ’ow we lost our fight. An’ that is what they’ll do to-night Upon the steamer out at sea, If I ’ave learned at Waterval The meanin’ of captivity. _They_’ll never know the shame that brands-- Black shame no livin’ down makes white, The mockin’ from the sentry-stands, The women’s laugh, the gaoler’s spite. _We_ are too bloomin’ much polite, But that is ’ow I’d ’ave us be... Since I ’ave learned at Waterval The meanin’ of captivity. They’ll get those draggin’ days all right, Spent as a foreigner commands, An’ ’orrors of the locked-up night, With ’Ell’s own thinkin’ on their ’ands. I’d give the gold o’ twenty Rands (If it was mine) to set ’em free ... For I ’ave learned at Waterval The meanin’ of captivity! PIET [Page 104] (REGULAR OF THE LINE) I do not love my Empire’s foes, Nor call ’em angels; still, What _is_ the sense of ’atin’ those ’Oom you are paid to kill? So, barrin’ all that foreign lot Which only joined for spite, Myself, I’d just as soon as not Respect the man I fight. Ah there, Piet!--’is trousies to ’is knees, ’Is coat-tails lyin’ level in the bullet-sprinkled breeze; ’E does not lose ’is rifle an’ ’e does not lose ’is seat, I’ve known a lot o’ people ride a dam’ sight worse than Piet! I’ve ’eard ’im cryin’ from the ground Like Abel’s blood of old, An’ skirmished out to look, an’ found The beggar nearly cold; I’ve waited on till ’e was dead (Which couldn’t ’elp ’im much), But many grateful things ’e’s said To me for doin’ such. Ah there, Piet! whose time ’as come to die, ’Is carcase past rebellion, but ’is eyes inquirin’ why. Though dressed in stolen uniform with badge o’ rank complete, I’ve known a lot o’ fellers go a dam’ sight worse than Piet.