The Cap'n Poem by Bryan Sefton

'Avast 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 day's as far away
As the sea once was

'Avast 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 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 my cursed leg
Down to Davey Jones' place
So he'd settled for being a trifle lame
From a musket shot off th Spanish Main
Though that was before he was born
It did no harm
It kept a few children happy
With tales of galleons and swords
And fantastic treasure hoards
And a smile and a greeting
Of 'welcome aboard'

We should all be that daft
And pass on our dreams to the next man
And colour them like the Cap'n can
Or did, for he's long since dead
Well no, not dead
For here in my head
He wrestles with the helm through a raging storm
As the screaming wind whips the sea to foam
And he yells 'avast, you scurvy rats! '
As he points aloft to the mizzen 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