My name it is ” Defiance,” an’ my natur’s much the same,
For towin’ on the River Clyde is more ‘n just a game.
I’m gettin’ old, they says-oh, my ! they do say nasty things! –
But still I takes my fill o’ coal, an’ still I sweetly sings-
Towin’ a big three-master,
Haulin’ a brig or two,
Guidin’ a liner into dock,
‘Tendin’ a ship that’s new,
Easin’ a vessel gone ashore,
Landin’ a shipwrecked crew, –
I’m fit for all them things, an’ more-
So gimme a job to do!
Some thinks my cousin tug, the screw, a smarter lookin’ craft,
But I prefers the paddles an’ a funnel set well aft.
Some likes the funnel black or white, but neither’s half as fine
As blushin’ red- in other words, a funnel same as mine!
I has a stock o’ patience, but I here an’ now declare
The cheek o’ certin younger tugs is more ‘n I can bear.
” Ahoy !” they says as they goes by, ” old Dot-an’-Carry-One!” . . .
Says I, “I towed ten mil-li-ons afore ye towed a ton .'”
I ‘lows my paddles don’t go round as sweet as some ye name,
But what’s it matter if they jerks? – They gets there all the same.
There’s different ways o’ doin’ things, at least, I knows on two;
The one it is the good old way- the other’s just the new.
To-day I’m waitin’ for a job an* frizzlin’ in the heat,
Which comes about the same to me as wind or rain or sleet.
I asks no “weather fav’rible” afore I puts to sea-
My name it is ” Defiance,” an’ ye can depend on me.
So toot yer horns, or h’ist yer flags, or wire me when ye’re doo,
I’ll meet ye when an’ where ye likes, an’ bring ye safely through.
Don’t heed the tugs that says I’m old an’ other nasty things,
For still I takes my fill o’ coal, an’ still I sweetly sings-
Towin’ a big three-master,
Haulin’ a brig or two,
Guidin’ a liner into dock,
‘Tendin’ a ship that’s new,
Easin’ a vessel gone ashore,
Landin’ a shipwrecked crew, –
I’m fit for all them things, an’ more-
So gimme a job to do!
(John Joy Bell)
More Poetry from John Joy Bell:
John Joy Bell Poems based on Topics: Name, Patience- A Little Boys Ideas (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Souls Of The Ships (John Joy Bell Poems)
- A Mariner (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Song Of A Ship (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Fog Song Of The Cloch (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Song Of A Lighter (John Joy Bell Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Name Poems, Patience PoemsBased on Keywords: towed, lows, blushin, smarter, haulin, tendin, certin, guidin, neither, landin, three-master