A bathmat and a bast mat
Were lying by the door;
Said the bathmat to the bast mat,
“You can’t sink any lower
Than drinking what finer fibers abhor,
You groveling son of a bashmak,
Go scuffling on the floor.”
What’s cooler underfoot would seem
Absorbed but impervious to steam —
Unmoved to any heated debate.
By noisy drains or a noisome grate,
Where faucets spout and porcelain sinks,
Wet wit expands but, drying, shrinks:
They also serve who only lie and wait.
Bashmak – (Pronounced BASH-mak here, although the original Russian is pronounced bash-MOCK) A shoe.