A Tinker's Dam

Through the Dark Woods crooked pathways Out beyond the crooked mile Lived a Tinker who tended the crooked river dam And He wore a crooked smile He tinked til the wee hours of morning Upon finest jewels of luster sheen He tinked gold for crowns and bracelets To be placed upon the Queen Each day at noon he shut the rivers gates To protect the palace in the valley low Though he was a Master Tinker He also cared for ebb and flow He was paid a meager tuppence For the many laborious hours he spent He kept it in an old biscuit box And never spent one cent One day the Queen sent a messenger A new tinker she had found His services were hereby cancelled His severence less than half a pound A tinker's tear had fallen From off his crooked brow Left suddenly with a jobless future There was only one action left for him now Noon came upon the mountain With the dam bursting at the seams He opened every river gate Creating raging torrents out of streams He gazed down upon the valley Where a Queen's palace once did stand And thought, You can mess with this crooked tinker Just don't mess with a tinker's dam