10-05-2011, 06:08 AM
dust devils skirl scrubbed steps
of cottages in Slubbers Row
skins spinning fingers
of worn out women
with red raw elbows
pinches tweedy faces of children
from half waking sleep
brass chimes tinkle
in the porches of t' bosses
tuneful as a ring
of cracked citadel bells
or the clatter of tankards
in the Drunken Slubber's Arms
a tattered wind
born of Pennine hills
and heather moors
lifts the skirts
of the pot-man's daughter Lettie Lee
she no better than she ought-a-be
ministering to the Minister's son
up against the Prims of Zion's walls.
Slubber
An occupation in the West Riding scribbling and spinning mills, whereby loose cardings were drawn out and slightly twisted so that they could be wound onto bobbins. The man in charge of the 30 to 50 spindles of a ‘slubbing billy’ was one of the most highly paid craftsmen. He was assisted by two or three children who fed in the cardings by rubbing fresh ones onto the end of old ones.