Le Chemineur.(Translation) . Poem by Michael Walker

The poem is about a way of life in New Zealand mainly in the 1930s, when life was hard for many. Men who were down-and-out would wander around, a swag on their back, and knock on a door, offering to do household tasks in return for food and a bed for the night. Of course the householder could accept or reject them, but from what I heard, the system worked quite well. That lifestyle no longer exists in New Zealand.
A swagman is wandering the countryside, a heavy sack (swag) on his back. He plods up the track to a house, where the cook looks out and curses the old tramp, ' with his clumsy swag/ made of a dirty old/ turnip-bag'
Then the man of the house speaks, with a quite different reaction. He tells the cook to bring him in from the cold rain, clothe him with silk, give him slippers, a place by the fire, and food. Pick some fruit, ice the cake, make his bed snug, and give him spiced wine for a night-cap, 'for this is Christ'.
The house owner is incredibly kind and generous to the old swagman, because he sees Christ in him. For those interested, the idea comes from the N.T. Matthew 25: 40-46.'Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of my brethren, you have done it unto me'.
I like the poem's setting out in 'different' stanzas, and the contrast between the cook and the owner in their attitude towards the swag man. R.A.K.Mason was the first truly modern New Zealand poet.
(My spelling of 'swagman' is correct-checked dictionary) .