Get Your Premium Membership

Paying The Captain

 We get on a boat, never mind if it sinks, we pay 
the captain by throwing him overboard.
And when he gets back onboard we say, captain, please don't be angry.
And he forgives us this time.
And so we throw him overboard again just to make sure we have fully paid the price we have set upon our passage.
When he gets back onboard he is not anxious to forgive us, and he would like it much better if we would get off his boat.
There is nothing left for us to do but to repay him and hope that this time it will be enough.
And so we throw him overboard again.
When he comes aboard again we say, now this must be the last of this, we will pay no more, we want the journey to begin.
But it seems there will be no journey since we have gotten the captain used to a good thing.
And so we must spend the rest of our days throwing the captain overboard.

Poem by Russell Edson
Biography | Poems | Best Poems | Short Poems | Quotes | Email Poem - Paying The CaptainEmail Poem | Create an image from this poem

Poems are below...



More Poems by Russell Edson

Comments, Analysis, and Meaning on Paying The Captain

Provide your analysis, explanation, meaning, interpretation, and comments on the poem Paying The Captain here.

Commenting turned off, sorry.


Book: Shattered Sighs