Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WHEN THE SCHOONER IS IN, by BEULAH MAY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WHEN THE SCHOONER IS IN, by                    
First Line: The foreign sea-captain
Last Line: He'll never return.
Subject(s): Sailing & Sailors


The foreign sea-captain,
His eyes cold as Norway,
Sits snug in the tavern
Drinking hot rum,
While copper-nosed sailors
Lurch down the alley,
Tarry black pigtails
Canted askew.
Bobbing hooped earrings
And parrots on shoulders,
Gold in their pockets,
Chinese gold, guineas,
Dark silver rupees,
They'll all go for rum.
The water front wakens,
A tired dusty trollop
Dons high-heeled slippers
And ties on her beads.
Come tune up the fiddle
And dance to a hornpipe,
The schooner slips anchor,
She sails with the dawn.

The foreign sea-captain
Has eyes cold as Norway.
He'll give you a porcelain
God from Canton,
A ring for your finger
And kisses in plenty,
Your heart may be broken --
He'll never return.





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