Hoodoo Poem by Cicely Fox Smith

'Don't you sign in that 'ooker,
Reid's
Gulistan
;
She's a fust-class looker,
But she kills 'er man.'

'There's nothin' much faster
Than 'er sails the seas;
I've known none go past 'er
In a wholesail breeze.'

'I done a round trip in 'er
Nine years back or ten,
But I ain't goin' to ship in 'er
Never again.'

'Sometimes it's a sheet takin'
Charge o' the watch,
Or a footrope breakin',
Or an open hatch.'

'You may watch night an' mornin',
But, watch 'ow you can,
She don't give no warnin';
She kills 'er man.'

'The grub as they gave you
Was the best I ever scoffed;
But good grub don't save you
If you fall from aloft.'

'They treat chaps fine in 'er,
Take it all round,
But I wouldn't sign in 'er
For a thousand pound.'

'Not in that there 'ooker,
Reid's
Gulistan
;
She's a lovely looker,
But she kills 'er man . . . '