Pomoc!

[Zielinski]

"Kuternoga z wiatrakiem w rogu w karty trzaska."

Does "z wiatrakiem" refer to a tangible physical object like a pinwheel that
spins in the wind or some other toy or gimmick?  Or is Bursa using an idiom
to refer to a futile battle or cause or struggle, as in "tilting at
windmills"?  Is the crippled man simply lame or is he an amputee with only
one leg?  Is he fighting a losing battle in the card game and can't win?  Or
is my Polish kolega who is now 50 years old correct?  He told me that he
remembers seeing beggars holding something that could be called "wiatrak"
that they would sell to earn a little money.

I understand the use of "wiatrak" in the third line of last stanza "ludzie
co godziny mielą jak wiatraki" to mean "to yak / jabber away for hours about
nothing."

It's also possible to understand the first line as two persons - a lame one
and a "windmill" - playing cards in the corner. Two beggars, most probably.
This image echoes in the closing line, where "król żołędny" is a card figure
(king of clubs).

Hope that helps

Jan Zielinski

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