Ocean Pearl (From Pirates Songs) Poem by Isabel Szurlej

The ship like a well-dressed woman:
Slender and fast
Ballasted well with a crowd of men around her
Sails rustle like wide skirts and supply power
Their touch makes her come to life
She skitters lightly, this way and that
Tunes with the sea and shakes her stern
Lifting her sturdiest prow higher
Tosses her masts around in figure eights
Sails around and shallow and deep
Holds firm in the face of the worst
As quick as variable, endlessly
A mystery wetted salt water,
Which never been unraveled
Bends with the wind, like wild steed and
Runs with her two triangular masts
Across the waves.
She is keeping herself afloat, fully-loaded
Cleared of marine growth
Long over one hundred feet and wide
Carries about ten cannons and
Accommodates over ninety men
She has twelve oars on each side and
A lovely name of the Ocean Pearl

In the grip of the water we indulge the time
Willing to sink galleons, even those heavily
Armed or attack any ship within sight:
Ounce of lead protects us
Desperate courage coping us with death
Protracts our fate for many years