The killick that he bore upon his arm
was who he was and also what he was
a badge, a rank, a sanctioned state of mind.
The discipline the powers sought to bear
empowered men like him to bully boys
and so rank them according to their tastes,
social whims, or fiscal given favors
as is the life, the mothers sold their sons
The killick that he bore upon his arm
was who he was, for now, but that could change;
for willing boys were hard to press to feed
desires of those who stood upon the bridge.
Should he succeed, then he may make first mate
less able, demoted back to Able.
For ’tis the boys that tug upon the ropes
that Captains need and Killicks train to be.
True happiness resides within each of us
We alone are responsible for our own well being
It is so easy to blame external forces, people, or events
But the bottom line is, we're the ones steering the ship
We're the Captain, the First Mate
Right down to the deckhand swabbing the deck
So here's my advise to all you nice people
Always, always think positive
The dark days are only temporary
Believe me, life is always about ups and downs
Endure the bad days... enjoy the good days
Pirate penguin had a song in his oversized heart
It was singing and chiming in a new kind of art.
He investigated the plank and laughed with a lark.
Now we wait for a crocodile, he said to first mate McBark.
Once upon a time,
A pirate ship came to mind.
Large and flowing,
With figure head all knowing.
Leading the ship day and night,
Into the latest pirate fight.
Brought many a ship's crew to their knees.
When Esmerelda held her cutlass high,
Squinted about with her one good eye.
The first mate squirreled,
In a hurry,
To turn the rudder left or right.
Failure to obey,
Would send the first mate to walk the plank,
Into the sharks as he sank!
I spend my days in slumber
But no dream could ever match
The smiles and the wonder
That had kept our love latched
Even in storms you were my summer
You were the calm as waves crashed
And your smile gave me colors
Even when the blue was vast
But no matter what I plunder
I can never take back the past
So your shantys what I mutter
When the cannon balls fly past
Why should my tale make me suffer
The longer that it lasts
Why should I bother taking cover
If I could see you in a flash?
We once shared a bond
That no one could ever measure
But now that you're gone
No more ink will fill my ledger
I've reached the end of my song
And you're still all that I treasure
So I promise it won't be long
Until we sing it together
The crew might say it's wrong
To leave this ship forever
But I know that I belong
Wherever we can be together
grab goggles, private sugarly said, we are head to the depths of the sea.
henry pea, her comrade, threw the binoculars and they hit a knee.
"that’s okay, you can’t hurt the captain of this adventurous ship"
they sailed up and down the coast for hours, as waves slip and dip.
Mommy tried to slow them with tomato soup and one potato chip.
you are my first mate, she told him, congratulations are in order, Pea.
he smiled all the way to the next big pirate island loving sea.
sugarly kept throwing stuffed animals into the ship for a bigger crew.
they traveled around the capes, to North pole, and over to Kalamazoo.
Its delicate wings no longer wet, it stretched well,
And flew up high holding onlookers in its spell.
Round and around it danced over the eerie pond
All covered with water lilies but not beyond.
Elation, euphoria, joy and disbelief,
Emotions fell as it landed on fragrant leaf.
Up again, its gossamer wings attaining strength,
As once again it fluttered across the pond's length.
Hungry it spied a tasty bug, gorged on its feed,
Then instinct urged it to find its first mate to breed.
The feat accomplished, it resumed its fullest flight
Knowing full well it needed rest before twilight.
Survival of the fittest it had never learned.
Bird ate it up, that natural death it had earned.
Stephanie did not know about sausage gravy
Until she decided to join the US Navy.
What is this delicious stuff? She asked her first mate.
Biscuits and gravy; ain’t it enormously great?
She wanted gravy on her eggs, gravy on her toast.
She loved sausage gravy so much, actually the most.
I want gravy in my coffee and gravy in my tea!
She was a six hundred pounder when she decided to marry Lee.
Smashing slashing gnashing storm at sea
Tossed the ships, sailors, Sammy, Elise and me.
We clung to the rudder and the wheel too
But she tossed us around like we weighed an ounce or two
Hold on! The first mate yelled to the skipper.
I can’t! He yelled, as the storm gave us a new ripper.
The skies opened up and poured hail on our heads.
Ocean was tossing and turning, storm needed to be fed.
I have never lived through a storm like this to date.
It was the most exciting experience of my life, so great!
I loved it totally when it did me little harm.
Better than a roller coaster in a loud rainstorm.
by Maxwell Sebastian Burchett
Set sail on an ocean,
An unknown sea,
At times adrift, unknown destination,
No compass or charts to see.
No return to original harbor
I must sail on,
Perilous to halt, cannot anchor
In this ship not chosen.
Yet I am Captain,
And crew, and then
First Mate,
Navigator and Helmsman.
Still there are lighthouse beacons
On which I rely and depend,
And fleets I seek to join
To find my way on.
To avoid sinking in my cosmic trip
Or being forever lost at sea,
Becoming a ghost ship,
Afloat, but adrift, only me.
To sail the world as a luxury cruise
Or a warship from one battle to the next,
Decided at time of launch in Destiny’s plan
For what storms and ships will be seen on this voyage of man.
This fateful voyage
Is, of course, my life.
The charted course of this passage,
I, the captain, will sail through storms or strife.
Photography by Pexels
Henry and Harry were fine old boys
Float the Mississippi on my convoy
They worked real hard, but then I found
Henry’s chased Harry round and round
Henry was caught by the devil’s claws
So we tied him up in a high tuckahaw
He plead that he never meant to do what he did
But then my cow came up and kissed him
Henry wanted Harry to help him in his room
Harry said I would love to see you soon
I came in to see why they were late
Saw that Harry was Henry’s first mate
Henry was caught by the devil’s claws
So we tied him up a high tuckahaw
He plead that he never meant to do what he did
But then my cow came up and kissed him
Harry said to Henry as he hung by his feet
“I miss you now, and again we’ll meet”
The boat went on with a mighty jerk
And Harry fell off into the murk
Henry was caught by the devil’s claws
So we tied him up a high tuckahaw
He plead that he never meant to do what he did
Then my cow came up and kissed him
Pink gladiola fleet entered the Dutch canal at two o’three.
One of the pirates said “Whoopdee dee dee”
What’s on board? Asked a first mate named Prix.
Not sure, he said, but it might be pretty girls, for free.
His wife heard and decided to make an example of him.
She took him by the ears, and she shook him by his chin.
The women from the gladiola fleet cheered for his wife.
“Served you right!” Yelled one of them, enjoying his strife.
Captain Mars left the wheel to Sarge, first mate
I have to check the lower deck, he said.
If I am not back in twenty minutes, I won’t be back.
The mate was new, he had no idea what that meant
Their ship was being tossed about like a rubber ball
Angry storm had come up suddenly, and was unrelenting
What should I do? Sarge asked an old timer who was near.
“Pray; it is the only thing left,” the old timer said.
Sarge was gritting his teeth so hard, they hurt.
He gripped the wheel, and held on for the ride.
Expecting to not see his twenty-eighth birthday.
“Calm down son,” his grandfather’s voice whispered.
Suddenly calm, Sarge felt a teensy bit of hope.
“It is not as bad as I feared,” Captain Mars said.
He took over the helm, and Sarge returned to his bunk.
His first dream that night was of his days fishing with grandpa.
red morrel mushrooms that always overgrew
they annoy me sometimes, how about you?
hey! who invited Captain M’s pirate crew?
They are rude and always spit in the awful beef stew
They all pretend they cannot find the loo
I smell them as they come in, they smell like mildew
they are reeking up my living room through and through
can’t you get them to bathe? I ask my cousin Lu.
None of you landlubbers are as fresh as the dew.
This is said by the first mate, they call him Big Blue.
Why does that overgrown dog always moo?
They were weird, coarse and wild, from Timbuktu.
I warned others with looks not to give Blue a clue.
My pet is my pet, and killing her is not what I’ll do.
They can find beef somewhere else, I do not explain her moo.
Why don’t you sit down while I ladle up your stew?
she was a blur in the water as she dove down through the depths
Sven, a Norwegian sailor was intrigued, having heard her lamenting song
He threw himself overboard, in hopes of being saved by her
she was the kind of mermaid who would have rescued him
If he had not waited too long, but alas, he had hesitated
a blue whale swallowed him up, but quickly spat him out
school of sharks surrounded him, and first mate yelled “Sven!
Grab ahold of this line!” Sven did, but he was too late doing that too.
As it often happens in their territory, the sharks had a glorious dinner.
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