Pirates

All who want to be pirates say, "Aye!"
Searching the ocean for gold!
Cast me your eye, I'll tell you no lie,
Now your future I will unfold.

Cold deep seas cover skulls and white bones,
A ship that sails with no crew
Your fate is clear as a crystal tear,
Hear what is waiting for you:

Your ship is a tangle of rigging
Dead in the twilight of dawn.
From the Inn you quarrel and stagger,
Cursing the day you were born!

"Lower the long boat, let go the stern!
We'll pull her out on the tide!"
The oars are creaking, you bend your back
Your chest is burning inside .

Oars dip rhythms in pools of sunlight
And the rope teases the ship.
Like an ant with a fly you struggle
'Til the quay gives up its grip.

Steal the ship like a fly from a web,
Tangled in the spiders snare.
Sails are unfurled, the fly is alive
And turns towards the sun's glare.

Out in the bay the sails catch the breeze
And the ship heels to starboard.
On, past the head there's the open sea
And somewhere that gold reward!

The days roll by with the waves
As you search the sea for a sail.
When it's calm you sleep or count the stars
And you pray through storm and gale

But madness grows in a tiny ship
On oceans that meet the sky
And pin pricks swell into deadly wounds
And your tempers rise and fly.

A cry from above, is it a fight?
No, "Sail on the starboard bow!"
Hoist up the flag, that pirates hoist up
And work like sailors know how.!

The hunt is on through the waves and spray
Chasing that distant white sail.
Your ship starts to moan and creak and groan
And strain every plank and nail.

Scale up the ratlines, wait like a cat,
A cutlass bare in your teeth
While old Captain Dan screams at the crew,
Who run like rats down beneath.

"More sail on the mizzen, you Sea Dogs!
Or you'll dine with Davy Jones!
There's gold for us all over yonder,
I can feel it in me bones!"

Cannons thunder! Somewhere down under
Covered in gunpowder smoke!
The ships collide, buckle and splinter.
Tearing and cracking old oak!


"Crowd over me mates, over you go!
Now is the time to be bold.
Don't cry for mothers, You scurvy land lovers,
Who will bring me that gold?"

Cold and swift like a hawk on its pray
Down to the deck with the rest
Now through the door and over the floor,
There's an old rusting sea chest.

"Best open it Lad before you go mad!
Let's see what treasure you've found!
Stand clear! Mind your backs! Here! Use this axe!
There's gold for us all I'm bound!"

Pound at the box, smash open the locks.
A rattle snake snaps at your neck!
A flash of cold steel, the snake didn't feel
And its head slides over the deck!

Its body still squirms, like a barrel of worms,
On a roll of red silk in the chest.
You rip at the silk, then white as spilt milk,
Lay the bones of a sailor at rest!

"Dead men don't bite! Give us some light!"
Dan throws the bones on the floor!
"Look 'ere me mates, gold pieces of eight,
A thousand or two - and 'ere's more!"

"More gems and stones beneath these old bones,
Who buried this skeleton here?"
The skull in his hand Dan says to his band
"Let's give our dead mate a cheer!"

Then you sing the song that pirates sing
Hoisting the gold back on board.
You open the rum and dance to the drum
Around the shining gold hoard.

Now the sails catch the breeze, and you turn by degrees,
To the sinking sun in the west.
You sing a song to a fife and drum
The song that pirates love best!

But down below, in the Captains hold
Where the sailor's skull was thrown
Something rises and moans, moves and groans,
There's a curse on those old bones.

Then the ghost rises up to the music above
And takes the helm while you freeze!
"South by south west!" Says the voice of death!
"This ship is mine, if you please!"

Now, in a panic you leap overboard.
Leaving your ship to its fate.
It sails away in a night full of stars,
While you hang in the sea like bait!

"We're done for me mates!" Sighs old Captain Dan
As you drift apart in the dark.
You swim and you listen to the cold black sea,
Until a lone voice calls out, "Shark!"

Now those evil fins circle in closer
To see what fell in their trap.
Closer and closer! Can you climb to the stars?
But there's a swirl, a splash and a ........

Now your bones all lie scattered and broken,
White, on the sea bed they sleep.
And the sharks still circle above them.
The tombstones of the deep.

And your ghost wanders timeless great oceans
As a warning for all to behold
That was greed in your eye that sparkled
Not treasure, excitement nor gold.