Fall,
You make the withered leaves slowly fall,
Leaving the trees so barren.
Their limbs extend out
To pick up what you've taken,
That that belongs to them.
Out of nowhere a force blows,
A privateer steals away out of reach
A fading memory.
10/24/2022
Heard in stories of ancient times,
a ship at sea of the privateer line.
A rat infested rigger with a creaking deck,
sailed into Point Berry as a seafaring wreck.
A crew of sailors, dastardly and mean,
shift of the eye for a chicken to pluck clean.
A flock of buzzards turned loose on a town,
drinkers of ail, stealers of pound.
windows closed, shutters pulled tight,
doors shackled and bared, locked for the night.
Laughter and curses mingled with a shout,
“Keep your hands off me.” a wench cries out.
“Come now, lass give ole Plke a kiss,
six months at sea, vinegar and piss.
Pistols charged, powder and ball,
blood on a blade, slice of a jaw.
Loose of tongue, drunk with wine,
Pillager and cutthroat of every kind.
a scene right out of a whiskey jug,
played on the stage of a waterfront pub.
The Dread Pirate Rick
by Rick Rucker
Doesn't sound too fearsome, eh?
But be sure not to get in the way,
'Twixt me and my Lady Fair,
White of skin, with auburn hair.
For I will beat you, every time,
With what? A Rose, a Pen, and Rhyme!
If you go after my future Wife,
The Dread Pirate Rick won't spare your Life!
I have sailed for many a year,
Most recently, as a Privateer,
I've seen that others sank,
When I made them walk the Plank!
So, for us, the Seas are fair,
For you, "There Be Monsters There!"
I starts me life as pirate,
A grommet before age twelve,
Not an ordinary bandit,
High sea adventures me delve.
With a Letter of Marque in me han’
And the Commodore for me pa!
I spends dogwatch near the helmsman,
Nerey missin’ me bonny ma.
Old salts tell their gory tales,
Aye, dogs hanging from the gallows.
Punishments for a man who fails
Floggings or keelhaul; blood bath follows.
Scrimshaw hangin’ ‘round me neck.
A privateer by trade,
Flaunting booty on the deck
We’s the scallywags brigade.
Pirateering is me heartthrob.
I dreams schemes in the crows nest.
‘bout takin’ swag from an unfortunate swab.
I sits watchin’ pa from the crest.
Long nines aimed and ready,
Jolly Roger on the mainmast,
Headway fast and steady,
The enemy’s fate forecast.
One for all and all for one!
Drinkin’ grog an’ eatin’ grub.
Werkin’ on the “Morning Sun”
Me father at the hub.
Davy Jone’s locker, me final plight!
Death drifting in me beloved sea –
Straightway from the dark of night
The pirate’s life for me!
© July 15, 2010
Dane Smith-Johnsen
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