Sunday, 18 June 2017

The Pirates

A poem from 2017

Listen to an audio performance

It was a stupid thing to do
We thought we had the numbers
A so solid crew
We thought we could chart a new course
A brotherhood true
We thought we could free ourselves

Plied with alcohol and taken against our wills
Strong lads we had our lives spared
Crossed our bones and hoped to live
All aboard the mother ship
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
We honoured the thieves, all the while plotting our escape

Dangerous, confined, rats, robbers, deep blue sea
Sickness, madness, frustration, pieces of eight, deep blue sea

We took our courage in our hands
We launched our fated mutiny
Our hearts sank as cold feet shrank back
Leaving us exposed and living dead

Condemned, tied up and spat upon
Mocked and blindfolded, urged on
At the point of a sword, inched along
The wobbly plank, creaking
Hearing curses and shrieking
Knowing there would be no way back

In slow motion I fell into the water
And sank
Holding my breath against all common sense
Prolonging the inevitable by seconds
A naive, involuntary optimism
As I went down, down
Panic replaced by peace
This was it

5 comments:

  1. Oh ! Sad story! Great narration by the way .. "panic replaced by peace " says it all..a great line indeed

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  2. Oh ! Sad story! Great narration by the way .. "panic replaced by peace " says it all..a great line indeed

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much. I have read before that drowning is a very peaceful experience, but I don't quite know how anyone worked that out!

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  3. Did Not Expect that ending. It truly made it.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I did consider him waking up in a hospital and finding out it was a reality tv show. But I decided against that.

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