Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Twitter Tanka

It has been a long time since I have posted poetry or much of anything to my blog, so I thought I would catch up by posting some poems that have previously appeared only on Twitter.


a freighter at anchor
her bow turned to face
the onslaught;
sky and sea
and storm and wave


the tall ship’s captain
in a pirate bikini
a rhinestone 
skull and crossed bones
over her left breast


still in her bikini
the captain explains
mechanical advantage
and directs the re-rigging
of the gun tackle


“stand off, stand off!”
I cry, hanging in
the rigging,
curious tourists 
right under our guns


clothes make the man:
the Viceroy in his hat and wig
is a charming gentleman,
but without his costume
he’s just another creepy old man


a linen shirt
and waistcoat—
more compliments
at the pirate festival
than the rest of the year


he calls me “dashing”
the much too young
shipmate
who says
he might be bi


“rum, sodomy,
and the lash”
here’s rum
and even a few lashes, 
but not a bit of sodomy


underage for sure—
but if he’s old enough
to carry a gun,
he’s old enough
to be ogled


too wet
to sleep on deck
too hot to
sleep below
a long night at sea

~Blackbeard Pirate Festival, Hampton, VA, 2010





















No comments:

Post a Comment