.
It is human nature to imagine the real when there is only the imaginary.
Any resemblance of the characters in this tale to other people, living, dead, real or imaginary,
is purely co-incidental.
Illustrations: Antonella Castelli tarot cards.
The Good Ship
An Agony in five Fits.
Prologue
I had been reading the Snark,
Carroll’s great tale,
The day had gone, it was quite dark,
It seems I’d drunk a little ale…
A wave of weariness filled my head
And, with no need for counting sheep,
I lay my head upon the bed
And drifted off to sleep.
And as in uffish sleep I slept
A dream most odd unrolled.
I give you now what my memory’s kept
Before the tale gets cold.
Fit the First
They sought it with razors, they sought it with pens
They chased it with a baguette
They cornered it every now and then
But it always slipped their net.
◊
The Captain was the dogged type,
With scowl and under-bite.
Much of what he said was tripe
But, as Captain, always right.
He seemed to be unduly scared
Of any knowledge transfers
He’d ask questions, as if he really cared,
But never listened to the answers.
The Bosun was the nominal head
And prayed five times a day.
No-one understood a word he said
And preferred it stay that way.
The Purser kept the cash required,
His smile as sweet as honey.
He said they could buy as they desired,
As long as they spent no money.
The Master’s job was to tend to the crew
To see them properly fed
But seems at a loss to know what to do
And spent all day in bed.
The Trader was always beautifully dressed
In clothes from the Italian spring.
She look so good that no-one guessed
That she had never sold a thing.
The ship had a Fool, a harmless buffoon,
Who watched the charade with dismay
He’d rant at length on a warm afternoon
But they turned their heads away.
Chorus
The ship is full of poor lost souls
No-one here knows their roles
We are the Good Ship
The misunderstood ship
Our sails are up but full of holes,
Full of holes.
Our sails are up but full of holes,
(Continued here)
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© 2011 J Cosmo Newbery
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