Pirate Poem by Kevin Eaglesfield

I met a pirate once outside the shops.
I'd gone to fetch some brown eggs for my mum-
They were better for you than white.
'Are you a pirate? ', I asked, forgetting my manners,
One eye on his sword and eye-patch,
The other looking for a policeman.
'Course I am, Shipmate', he said
And he sounded like a pirate with all the 'Aaarghhs'.
'Where's your boat then? ' I asked in awe.
'Er, just down there ', he replied, pointing.
'Out of sight of the king's men '.
This was odd because we didn't have a king.
Maybe he'd been at sea a long time.
Anyway, 'over there' was the river
And all rivers lead to the sea
So it must have been true.
'Have you killed many people? ' I whispered.
'Aaarrr too many to count, Jim Lad', he growled
And I didn't mind that he'd got my name wrong.
'I even lost me leg in the Spanish Main',
'Fightin' for Cap'n Flint's treasure'.
I looked dubiously at his two good legs.
'Pirate magic', he confided, bending down,
'It grew back'.
A wink from his good eye.
'Now we sail at midnight, Lad', he said seriously,
'So keep me secret and I'll slip you this doubloon',
And he pressed a ten pence piece into my hand
And closed my hot hand around it.
And I didn't tell a soul.