Homage to Francisco Goya y Lucientes
by Pavel Chichhikov
The chair is on fire
As he sits in the chair in his nightshirt
To smoke the last pipe of the evening
The house is on fire
And he smiles because he feels good
And the nightcap has smoothed his spirit
The house is on fire and the rafters are smoking
And the walls turn hot with repressing heat
While he thinks: Did I lock the front door?
Wake up! Wake up! The house is on fire –
But he thinks of a warm tub next to the stove
And a nice long soak to unwind
What a fool! What a dunce!
And his house in on fire
But he’s thinking of cash in the bank and his credit
And the old moon, belle dame, looks down from the night
Looks down from her orbit of ivory and satin:
Wake up! Wake up! Your house is on fire, old man