As everyone on board was so alike,
it was decreed that boredom would set in soon
unless they took on roles
and staged an impromptu play
of characters aboard a trading vessel.
An imposing man then came on board
and took on a role as a country vicar.
Whenever someone fell out of role
(and that happened with most)
he or she had to pay a forfeit.
Though Philine offered him redemption
of any forfeit of his for a kiss,
the new guy never lost a thing;
not even a ring.
She had a look in a mirror for something amiss.
She excused his behaviour with,
'He looks like a human being,
not any Tom or Dick or Harry.'
‘Stiff, if you don't know what I mean, '
said Philine.
(She was flabbergasted,
for nothing amiss had she seen.)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem