Sunday, October 05, 2014

761 - The Expedition

Sunday Whirl (Wordle #181) presents a list of words
that we must incorporate in a writing piece.  

The words this week are:
sense, speech, sheets, goblets, signs, vital,
name, broken, away, strips, connected, poem


The Expedition

The word had reached the Empire
Of riches far away;
Of spices, gold and willing girls,
Of reindeer and a sleigh,
The vital signs that are required
For a mercenary foray.

The expedition was assembled,
Five bankers had been found,
Endless speeches had been given,
The boat they had was sound,
They filled its hold with puddings,
Rejecting those not round.

The sails were sheets of onion skins
Cut  into even strips,
The ballast was unbroken plates
Though some of them had chips,
And a passing poet was shanghaied,
To record the epic trip.

The captain was a cantaloupe,
The crew, a herd of sheep,
The first mate was a three-toed sloth
And spent the day asleep;
The cook was known to drink a bit
And predisposed to weep.

The bosun was well connected,
His father was an earl,
Who’d sent his son off to the sea
To teach him of the world,
But couldn’t dampen his inner love
Of dressing like a girl.

They charged their goblets and raised a toast,
They named the ship ‘Ptomaine’,
The crew all sensed the moment too
And tried to break their chains,
They then sailed into the setting sun
And were never seen again.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2014
---

Print this post

26 comments:

  1. Broad grins today. Thank you. I would love to see a musical based around that ship and its crew...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Perhaps they found the willing girls? That plus gold and spices, why go home?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Quite enchanting. Are they naked? The girls, I mean, not the sheep.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Presumably they died of Ptomaine poisoning. You must have had a few laughs composing this yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is delightful to have a giggle at 3:13 am - when awoken to post and comment ... Thank you for the smiles and laughter

    ReplyDelete
  6. They then sailed into the setting sun
    And were never seen again.

    Sounds like Franklin's expedition into the Arctic. Over 150 years later, we've finally found is flagship, crushed, in about 11 metres of water.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a delightful romp across the magical waves..as an expedition can i stick to going to the shops though ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. What fun...I love how you blended these words together for this epic trip.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A fun piece. Like this one: a passing poet was shanghaied,
    To record the epic trip.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Epic and scathing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't think I've laughed so hard all week. Thank you! (Although I pity the poor shanghaied poet..)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Me thinks you must be the shanghaied poet, your details are so robustly clear. And I agree, why go home when there is so much more to see...

    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  13. They shanghaied the 'write' poet! This journey came alive, and you cast light where darkness often prevails. Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  14. o-o...thanks for the smile...a delightful read :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. This was a lot of fun to read.. like a nursery rhyme sea shanty.. but I so understand they had to Shanghai the poet...

    ReplyDelete
  16. An assortment of crew just waiting for it all to happen. It is not something sweet. Not surprising they are no more around. Very creative offering Cosmo!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  17. This poem reminds me of 'Cargoes' was it Masefield? Yours has that classical feel and is rich in texture and detail.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wonderful use of the words woven into a funny story. This is grand.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I adore the flow and rhythm of this poem. Not contrived or forced, it is reminiscent of some wonderful classical poems like "Annabel Lee" and "Owl and Pussycat."

    ReplyDelete
  20. Another "Mary Celeste"....

    ReplyDelete
  21. hahaha that great and fun to read :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is so delightfully entertaining and cleverly crafted. Love it :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. So funny and so clever! Love the name of the ship! The best thing I've read in ages. LHN

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousMay 28, 2015

    OH MY, this is So Marvelous--thoroughly delightful read!

    ReplyDelete

You've come this far - thank you.
Take your time, look around,
There is lots to see.