Tradition

[Hawkman]

The traditions of the Royal Navy:

“…Rum, Sodomy and the Lash.”
(Winston Churchill.)


Now, me hearties, let’s set sail
and on the oggin ride.
Steer us for Tortuga’s main,
let pirates be our guide.

And in the Windies’ troubled seas
we’ll stock up on the rum,
for Pusser’s blood is what I need
to fuel me on this run.

Have you seen the cabin boy?
young Jim lad is his name.
It’s his turn in the barrel
and he’s famous for the game.

He isn’t there for apples mate,
of this you can be sure,
his appetites’ for other fruit
and never gets too sore.

And now the Jaunty calls us forth,
we’re going to see a flogging
and from the bag the cat leaps out:
nine tails, all a bobbing.

Strap him to the grating lads,
and see his bonds are tight
and give the bosun room to swing,
his touch can’t be too light.

For in the Royal Navy
tradition is the thing.
It binds the ship together
and maintains discipline.


Some notes:

Pusser, slang for purser. Now used colloquially to refer to the Royal Navy.
Pusser’s blood; Rum.
Jaunty: Slang term for ‘Master at Arms’, the ship’s regulator, responsible for bringing men to account for crimes and misdemeanours.

[PrinceMyshkin]

One of the pleasures for me in clicking on a new thread by you is that one doesn't know what to expect (other than pride in craft and the hint of the joy you've had in writing it). It might be a paean to nature, as in "Home Maker" or "Black Mountain" or a light but sharp bit of self-mockery, "Exhausted" or this piece of social satire.

You're d/ed lucky Her Majesty's Exchequer has yet to find a way to put a tax on this sort of fun.

[hillwalker]

This is one of your best, Hawk.

A genuine sea shanty - written by a real owd salt by the sound of it.
Puts me in mind of 'The Captain's Beautiful Daughter' (?) I seem to recollect from younger days.

Brilliant fun.

H

[hack]

Argh, Tales o the Main.
Very good, as always Hawkman.
I love a good tribute
to the genius
of Winston Churchill.

[milktea]

This is a wonderful lyrical poem. The only suggestion I would make is to remove the 'and' from the last line of the stanza:

Have you seen the cabin boy?
young Jim lad is his name.
It’s his turn in the barrel
and he’s famous for the game.

I think it would be in better keeping with the rhythm that you've established in the poem. Thank you for sharing this.

[Hawkman]

My Prince, Thanks for your comment but please don’t draw the attention of the customs and excise to a further source of revenue! The state the country’s finances are in, they’ll almost certainly consider it! Glad you like the variety of my work and I’ll do my best to keep it up. :D

hill, glad you approve and thanks. I’ve another one I’m working on which you might enjoy. don’t hold you breath though, it keeps growing!

hack, thanks and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Churchill is a deep well of quotes but I just couldn’t resist working on this one.

milktea, thanks and welcome aboard…

I know what you’re saying with the verse but I tried it both ways and it is much easier to read the way it is. The soft stress on the second syllable of ‘barrel’ makes the transition into the next line, starting at ‘he’s’ awkward to say and it just doesn’t flow so well. Also where this verse has been alternating between 7 and 6 syllables, 2 lines of 7 make the transition to the first line of the next verse, which has 8, less jarring.

Thank you all for taking the time to read and comment on this poem.

Although I have referred to, ‘Letting the cat out of the bag’, in the poem, you might be interested to know that:

When I was at school, my history teacher told me that, ‘letting the cat out of the bag’, was an expression which related to the market-day/fairground practice of, ‘buying a pig in a poke’. As a poke is a sack, the buying of a piglet in one was a gamble the punter would take, a sort of lucky dip. If when opening it he, ‘let the cat out of the bag’, he discovered he’d been duped.

Now Hollywood, amongst other educators of the world, would have us believe that, ‘letting the cat out of the bag’, is a naval expression referring to taking out a cat o’ nine-tails. This may be true, but certainly in the Royal Navy, a man who was to be flogged was required to make his own cat as part of the punishment. I don’t think he had to make a bag for it.

Live long and prosper - H

[J.D. Sparks]

I think the way you used the quote was excellent. The poem seemed like a natural expansion upon it.

Very fun.

[lallison]

Firstly,

‘letting the cat out of the bag’, was an expression which related to the market-day/fairground practice of, ‘buying a pig in a poke’. As a poke is a sack, the buying of a piglet in one was a gamble the punter would take, a sort of lucky dip. If when opening it he, ‘let the cat out of the bag’, he discovered he’d been duped.
What language is that exactly? it seems to be English, but as far as I can tell it's a strange dialect that I can neither make heads or tails from.,

secondly, "sure" doesn't rhyme with "sore," nor dose "thing" rhyme with "discipline." At least not in the way god intended for them to be pronounced.

lastly, it's a great poem, and don't let my bad jokes lead you to think otherwise. I loved the references to "Treasure Island" and all the other allusions to tradition. Nicely done. Even the poor rhyming skills fit into their place. But free verse, that's how we do it in a modern nation.

[Hawkman]

But free verse, that's how we do it in a modern nation.

Hi lall, I guess that why you're writing sonnets! :D

JD, thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it,

best,

H

[AuntShecky]

This piece is yet another example of your facility with meter and rhyme as well as a jaunting wit. I like the risqué word play with the ropes and bond imagery, though as a job description (or recreational activity ) 'tisn't my cup o' grog.

I imagine that more innocent readers will be shocked by the Churchill quip which you used as the epigraph. (That's probably because they haven't yet learned of Churchill's complex personality.) It was brave of you to cite that quip; nevertheless I would love to see more of that bravery and risk-taking in your own lines.

I hope that will you not take this the wrong way. But after reading this and your other recent postings, I am beginning to think that so far you've just been skimming the surface. You are capable of navigating much deeper and dangerous waters. As I say, so far.

Not that your works are acutely "superficial," but rather that I would like to see you go "deeper." Stretch out. Take a risk, even if it means sailing your poetic vessel off the edge of the earth.

Part of the reason for this is the subject matter you've been chosing. The topics are aptly suited for light verse, and AS light verse, your pieces are quite good. Don't get me wrong-- I'd much rather read a piece of light verse with imagery that I can see, hear, taste, and feel (in a palpable sense) rather than so-called Serious Poetry rampant with abstractions, clichés, and amorphous "feelings." Such emotion-laden lines often are a symptom of excessive sincerity, an ailment which I am delighted to say, you are fortunately immune.

Surprise me. Surprise yourself. I want your poems to knock me out of my chair.

I say this merely because I know your work has the capacity to do just that.

[Hawkman]

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showpost.php?p=893869&postcount=23

Hi Auntie, Not sure I get what you mean. You only seem to comment on the fun posts. Did you see the one above, or did that fall short of your expectaions too? :D

What about Black Mountains on this page of the forum?

Do tell ;)

H

[MorpheusSandman]

I immensely enjoyed this piece, like I have most of your works but I have little of substance to add to the praise and criticism already offered. I especially agree with Prince that your versatility always makes it exciting to click on your threads.