A Simple Act of Mutiny
A SIMPLE ACT OF MUTINY
I was a mate among a crew, it was in my younger years
when I was raw and restless and served aboard a privateer.
I stood accused of mutiny, I'd called my conscience up to arms
and tried to commandeer my ship away from certain harm.
The captain was a madman, he had us in desperate straits,
war winds blew against us and we sailed a sea of hate.
Though I was bound before him, I could see too he was chained
to a sorry sense of duty that had driven him insane.
I knew his orders came to him from a high command
and sensed upon his shoulder a hidden bloody hand.
It was plain that dark intrigues raged above our ranks
and no matter what did or said I was to be outflanked.
He made his case against me, as I stood before the mast
and I said these words in my defense before my lot was cast.
"It's not an act of mutiny to call your conscience up to arms
and try and commandeer your ship away from certain harm.
I will not pull upon an oar that will row this ship
off the edge or eternity and into history's crypt.
and by no authority will I unfurl a sail
that will blow us to extinction in the crosswinds of this gale."
I was ordered set adrift and went without a qualm
though the sea raged about me the storm within me calmed.
It's not an act of mutiny to call your conscience up to arms
and try to commandeer your ship away from certain harm.
Copyright © John Wilowski | Year Posted 2012
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