‘E’s a tough ole salt,
With a ‘ide well tanned,
An’ it ain’t ‘is fault
If the craft is manned
With a motley sort er crew.
Ya-hoo!
An’ it is a mixed-up crew.
But ‘e’s sailed, ‘as ‘e, on many a sea,
An’ e’s journeyed nigh an’ fur;
‘E’s a tough ole, rough ole – not to mention gruff ole,
Bluff ole mar-i-ner.
Fer ‘e sailed among
The Labor Seas
When ‘e wus young;
An’ since that ‘e’s
Been on all sorts o’ craft –
Abaft
And ‘fore the mast ‘o craft.
Fer ther ain’t no boat that’s bin afloat
As ‘e don’t know ev’ry spar;
This sly ole, fly ole, mind-yer-weather-eye ole,
Spry ole deep-sea tar.
Once in the ship
Re-pub-li-can
‘E took a trip
As a ‘fore-mast man,
An’ e transhipped in mid-sea,
Did ‘e –
Went overside at sea.
Frum a Freetrade raft to a ‘Tection craft
‘E knows ’em stem to starn.
‘E’s ratin’ as a great un at the art of navigatin’,
An’ ‘e ain’t got much to larn.
To watch ‘im skip,
On ‘s nimble feet,
Frum ship to ship
Is a ‘igh ole treat.
Fer ‘e don’t stop long on none.
‘E’s done
A fair, long cruise on none.
But ‘e’s larned a lot from the points ‘e got
Since ‘is cruisin’ fust began,
This saine old smarty, sail-with-any-party,
Hearty aailor-man.
Now ‘e’s signed fust mate
Fer another trip,
Fer to naviprate
The Fusion ship;
An’ a crazy craft she is.
Gee-whizz!
An’ a frail ole tub she is.
With a crew o’ sorts from all the ports,
An’ a chance o’ mutinee.
But ‘e’ll see the vessel thro’ it, if there’s any man kin do it,
Fer a hard ole salt is ‘e.
Fer the best o’ mates
Is ‘im thet’s got
Cer-tif-i-cates
From the ‘ole darn lot,
When the stormy winds do blow.
Yo-ho!
When the windy storms do blow.
On a Tory tramp ‘is callin’ damp
‘E ‘as managed to pursoo.
Now ‘e ‘as to larn twin-screw ways – with ‘er nose a-pointin’ two ways,
An’ a fair ole rorty crew.
But ‘is eye’s glued tight
On the compass face,
An’ ‘e’ll make a fight
Fer the anch’rin’ place,
Fer the Harbor o’ Recess.
O, yes,
There’s a harbor at Recess.
An’ ‘e’ll do it yet, with luck, you bet,
Fer ‘e’ allus bin at sea.
An’ there ain’t no glummer salt, lightly-go-an’-comer salt,
Rummer sort o’somer-salt than ‘e.
(C J Dennis)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Faces Poems, Youth Poems, Fairness Poems, Place Poems, Art Poems, Fate & Destiny Poems, Madness Poems, Chance Poems, Labor PoemsBased on Keywords: ide, gruff, larn, igh, fust, frum, thet, wus, mid-sea, anch, overside
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