Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems by the late Thomas Haynes Bayly; Edited by his Widow. With A Memoir of the Author. In Two Volumes |
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THE SEA PINK. |
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 | Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems |  |
THE SEA PINK.
I
I've a yacht in the Island, the Sea Pink, of Ryde,Not a craft in the Club can be better;
I own, when she goes very much on one side,
I'm afraid that the wind will upset her.
I belong to the Club, which is very genteel—
We ne'er let a Scamp or a Shab in;
But though it's the fashion, I own that I feel
More at ease in my Cab than my Cabin!
II
'Tis true, I know little of nautical ways,And less about charts of the ocean;
And what's rather odd, on the quietest days
I always grow queer with the motion!
I've sunk a large sum on the toy, and 'tis well
If the toy and I don't sink together:
Oh! talking of sinking—nobody can tell
What I suffer in very bad weather!
III
When I sigh for the land, Sailors talk of “sea room,”All sense of propriety lacking;
And they gave me a knock-me-down blow with the boom.
T'other day, in the hurry of tacking.
41
And a Mackintosh—all India rubber;
And a Sailor cried, “Jack, look at that 'ere queer chap,
Did you ever see such a land-lubber?”
IV
What a bother the wind is! one day we were caughtIn a bit of a breeze in the offing;
And we tack'd, and we tack'd, till I verily thought
Every tack was a nail in my coffin!
Cried one, “Never fear, we shall soon reach the shore,”
(To me that word reach is pathetic!)
I've heard of perpetual Blisters before,
But I've an eternal emetic!
V
The Captain and Crew are of course in my pay,I expect them to pay me attention;
But they push me about, and they now and then say
Little words it would shock me to mention!
The smell of the tar I detest, and I think
That the sea-breeze quite spoils the complexion,
But the ladies all say, when they've seen the Sea Pink,
That her Owner's the Pink of Perfection.
| Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems | |