It got some people angry
And others got annoyed
Who was the alter ego
With whom he always toyed?
And thus
This here Bashevkin
Is just a bit afraid
About his alter ego
And the pen-name that
He made
But this Bashevkin
Does not praise
His alter ego’s work
He’ll use the false Bashevkin
In case he writes a quirk
Bashevkin will not praise him
Bashevkin does not care
Bashevkin will not write about
Women and covered hair
Look for the name Bashevkin
You won’t find it with ease
It’s not there in the Talmud
Perhaps Maimonides
This writer may have borrowed it
To someone’s consternation
I hope that I’ve not sullied
A decent reputation
But I will go on record
It’s not my name I took
I hope by coming clean with this
I will be off the hook!
And now I will not use it
To bolster up some views
Or write a p’sak halacha
Affecting other Jews
I’ll just pen my opinions
Some witty and some lame
And add a byline to those thoughts
With the Bashevkin name
I won’t be in a journal
I won’t hide from a p’sak
Won’t compliment my other
For coffee rooms to hock
And now that I have said it
And all of you have read
Does it really make a difference
Who’s Bashevkin of Yated?
