The Cap'n

Living the dream

A'vast there! Weigh anchor!'
Though he's never been to sea
He would have if he could have
Long ago when he was young
But the sea was far away
So he left it till another day
And now that days as far away as the sea once was

'A'vast and belay you scurvy bilge rats!'
And the children stood wide eyed
He'd made enquiries once
To have his leg off on the National Health
Oh! To sit with a wooden leg
On an upturned boat or an old rum keg
And tell the kids how he'd lost it

'A shark, hear me? Aye a shark
As mean a shark as ever flicked tail
Took me from behind and the sea ran red
And the shark he ran with me cursed leg
Down to Davey Jones' place'
So he'd settled for being a trifle lame
From a musket shot off the Spanish main
That that happened long before he was born
Made not the slightest difference

My Mother used to say
'Stay away from him, he's daft
But what harm did he do?
Except to keep a few children happy
With tales of galleons and swords
And fantastic treasure hoards
And a smile and a greeting of 'welcome aboard'

Well we should all be that daft
And pass on our dreams to the next man
And colour them the the Cap'n can
Or did, for he's long since dead
Well no, not dead, for here in my head
He wrestles with helm through a raging storm
As the screaming wind whips the sea to foam
And he yells 'a'vast you scurvy rats!'
As he points aloft to the mizzon mast
And he laughs in the face of the wind
And he spits in the eye of the storm
As he taps the deck with his wooden leg
And he curses the National Health shark

Reviews

[Cherrie Palmer]

...we should all be that daft...
Yes I agree. Keep the yarns coming.

[John the Baptist]

An interesting character sketch here. Some live in their imaginations. Such can be pitied, but there is a different side to everything. To be able to give joy to children is no small accomplishment.