This is an excellent poem for choir work. There are many opportunities for solo work within the framework, and the story is fun and resonates with girls and boys.
THE DISILLUSIONED PIRATE
By Michele Lourie 2017
A pirate bold, so we are told,
Leads a jolly life that is free.
But I can say that it’s not the way
I experienced pirate life at sea.
Singing ‘Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum’
Might to you have a lot of appeal,
But I have trouble in holding key
And I won’t say how rum makes me feel.
Dancing the ‘Sailors Hornpipe’
Is hopeless with two left feet.
While wearing a peg leg is only good
For stomping when keeping the beat.
To walk the plank is a dangerous sport
You might catch a cold when wet,
And I wouldn’t advise, if you cherish your ear,
The choice of a parrot as pet.
The art of carrying a knife in your teeth
Means the tongue is in harm’s way,
While the climb to the Crow’s Nest with a fear of heights
Could possibly take all day.
I would wear a patch over one eye
A bandanna round my head,
But when waves pitch and roll and sea sickness is rife
Then I’d much really much rather be ……..
On the shore with my feet planted firmly on the ground!
