There was a ship of Rio Sailed out into the blue, And nine and ninety monkeys Were all her jovial crew. From bo'sun to the cabin boy, From quarter to caboose, There weren't a stitch of calico To breech 'em -- tight or loose; From spar to deck, from deck to keel, From barnacle to shroud, There weren't one pair of reach-me-downs To all that jabbering crowd. But wasn't it a gladsome sight, When roared the deep-sea gales, To see them reef her fore and aft, A-swinging by their tails! Oh, wasn't it a gladsome sight, When glassy calm did come, To see them squatting tailor-wise Around a keg of rum! Oh, wasn't it a gladsome sight, When in she sailed to land, To see them all a-scampering skip For nuts across the sand! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO SEE THE STARS IN DAYLIGHT by JAMES GALVIN SONG FIRST BY A SHEPHERD by WILLIAM BLAKE THE LADY'S 'YES' by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING CENTENNIAL MEDITATION OF COLUMBIA by SIDNEY LANIER THE FIRESIDE CHAIRS; HUSBAND TO WIFE by WILLIAM BARNES |