Classic Poem

I CHANGE myself, and so on more
Will cry against inconstancy:
The chiefest pals I had of yore
Without offence may tire of me:
And they are free, and I am free.
To seek new faces down the line—
But yet I say wherever I be:
All good fellows are friends of mine!

No talk of race or caste or creed;
No fault of hair, no shade of skin,
Shall bar me of my choice, indeed
The sweetest nut may lie within
The toughest shell; 'twould be a sin
To lose a comrade, or resign
My company for cause so thin:
All good fellows are friends of mine!

They fail us now and then, of course;
And some are rascals, more or less:
Some cajole us to endorse,
And leave us in the lurch: O, yes;
But to relieve our loneliness
If only for a day is fine:
For that we owe them some, confess:
All good fellows are friends of mine!

Whether at sea or whether on shore,
Or at the job or over the wine,
Whether on two legs, whether on four—
All good fellows are friends of mine!