You Can Have Whatever You Want

Some waves, certain gales, you can’t tempt or dare 

leave to fate. You can of course, if so inclined, 

swallow the minnow, run up your colors, and 

sail off on Tuesday for the Barbary shore --

but, it’s only fair, I warn you, after departure, 

she’s booty, a dainty little scallop to sauce into the pan

of every warm blooded flynn, me, looking for a clam

to dribble over at the Saturday night fish fry.  

There’s no safe harboring a governor’s daughter. 

Once the wind’s up the pirate’s surf, every apple 

is a peach, some cobbler’s dream recalled --

a potential passport back to the Pilgrim’s planter. 

We may all be mangy cats, tom dicks or 

harolds, heathens wedded to the grapes of a dash 

and dine, the quick carry off, but down deep, 

in the depths of the barnacle’s basement, 

every one of us was born to a mother on land. 

That motion of a notion, of laying out 

the old skull and bones before a hearth’s 

drying embers to die is the hell’s fire lick of life

we’ve shuffled around the decks of every scow 

we’ve ever plowed. A want for want of a home. 

In time, the weather vane points us 

in the general direction of a place we might 

wade ashore, settle under a shady coconut 

palm to drink a dram or two 

of a mother’s milk -- and 

if she’s an obliging shoal, we might 

dally long enough to miss the last boat out, 

thankful there’ll be no more going away.  

Ken e Bujold

Reviews

[Red Brick Keshner]

Missing "the last boat out" or bus or train or plane, what have we. I have had that privilege a long time ago. Kind of like Peter Pan in some fashion.

[Ken e Bujold]

yeah i have missed my fair share as well. though in the case of this one, its more a warning to others, if you leave the guv's daughter unattended too long some pirate is going to come along :)

[Red Brick Keshner]

Ooh, pirates about. Yes those too.

[willweb]

What a wonderful adventure I have just been afforded a visit to because of your talents my friend. Yep, that would be me under that palm, waving goodbye to the ship sailing without me. This was fantastic and something to be very proud of.

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks will. glad you enjoyed the visit.

[Betty Hermelee]

growing up on a boat is not easy and is very unsettling ; I believe that some land would be a good choice to descend upon least for a time.... so I suspect you are searching for that; in the meantime it seems that the Governor's daughter whom you would like, is not interested in your class of society.....so to speak...nice metaphors.. and images of rough seas....
Best, B

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for stopping by betty

[Betty Hermelee]

You're very welcome Ken!
Best, B

[Lorry]

We are all born to them, but our attitudes to women as we grow isn't always of the "wokest woke"
I'm still pretty amazed they keep us around at all or even give us the time of day sometimes, but bless 'em for putting up with us scurvy lot 😊

[Fabian G. Franklin]

High ho, high ho, it's off to sea we go. I enjoy the shanty form of this sea-bound manifesto. "Take what you can, give nothing back." The pirate code. I've a real affection for all things pirate. I have a wall in my home dedicated to pirates. Of course it's just the romanticism that I love, not actual piracy. But there are books on pirates, statues of pirates, a few sailing ship models, a jolly roger flag, some pirate drinking mugs, a rather large parrot sculpture, some Tiki gods and Aleutian art having to do with whaling just to name a few items in my collection. And there's a large pirate painting as the centerpiece. My wife tolerates the eccentricity of it all. The "real" pirates had little to do with the ones romanticized by movies of course. My favorite is Jean Lafitte. Blackbeard was killed just off our coast and I've been to the spot. There's a placard there to commemorate his defeat by Maynard. I enjoyed this read as I enjoy all things of the sea. Cheers.

[Ken e Bujold]

I too have been fascinated by pirates for about as long as I can remember. to your list, I add the Bedouin, pirates of the sand.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Yes. I loved that movie, The Wind and the Lion from 1975 with Sean Connery and Brian Keith. My favorite part was when the Bedouin kids were playing with a jap and pored it out on the sand and the woman asks, "What is that?" And the Brigand replies, "It appears to be a man's tongue." She asks, "Why on earth would anyone want to cut out a man's tongue?" And he says, "Perhaps the previous owner had nothing pleasant to say with it." I laughed the first time I heard that. I thought I know a few folks...

[Fabian G. Franklin]

That's a typo, I meant JAR not jap...my fingers get ahead of themselves sometimes.

[Ken e Bujold]

haven't thought of that movie in a while. I have seen the Bed's up close and personal though. Stoic fellows

[Fabian G. Franklin]

And poured, not pored...I think I need my evening rest. (laughing)

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I read the most interesting book quite awhile back about a fellow retracing the steps of the Magi on their journey to visit the Christ child...It was called Journey of the Magi. But the author talks in depth about his travels with the Bedouin through the desert.

[Ken e Bujold]

'91 i spent the better part of three months in and around Jordan, work and self-evaluation, and had the chance to spend a little time in the desert. one of my more memorable experiences

[W. Barrett Munn]

Man, Ken, I really like this except I'm flummoxed by that opening line trying to understand how you can tempt a wave or a gale. I think I understand what your after, like tempting fate without using that cliche'.
That's the only glitch on my radar. And it could just be a dead bug on my screen, not yours.

Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

ok quick thought experiment: the line is very much tied to the 4th line. And so it should make reader come back at some point to ponder it. Glad to see it did with you, a sharp reader.

here is what i am aiming for. Some waves, water (minor influence) linked to sail. waves (as in goodbye) slightly obscured but there. Gales, winds obviously continuing sail motif, but replace the "e" with an "i" n front of the "l" and what do you get? Gail...the good old gov's daughter. You can't tempt or dare to leave her and expect fate won't leave her unattached for long. That's the line along which 1st three v's travel. then the shift...
from a warning to a dog, to a dog's recognition he can't be an old hound forever and still expect to not shuffle off after the last bone alone.

hope this helps

[W. Barrett Munn]

Yes, that helps, but is it too obscure? What about a more concrete start: Some Gails, like certain waves, you can't ..
Your call-I'm just tossing out ideas here, so take them for what they are worth - not much. LoL.

[Ken e Bujold]

i enjoy the back and forth, it is always helpful to have other eyes on work. just mailed you response to your mail to me which expands on the thought process. in this case i will leave as is. very much thought of punctuation in line one "," after tempt and dare but in the end i like the cadence and the obscurity which hopefully brings readers circling back to what may or may not be intended by the lines