I guess it’s not really that scary when you keep the scale of the ship in mind… and I have the feeling that a creature like that would not be days from shore so perhaps they will make landfall the next day!
Let’s see where the story goes next when Tom has a chance to post a new poem in the comments!
UPDATE: Please read the comments for one of the best poems yet!
image (cc) 2010 Hilary Farmer
Green Tea Doodles 
“What next?” asked the stranger, “it’s funny you ask,
for the what came aboard was a three-legged Glask!”
“A Glask,” gasped out Cindy, with shock and dismay,
“I’ve heard they will eat your whole head right away!”
“I’d heard the same, and I tell you no lie,
when I saw those green fingers I wanted to cry!
The sun was long down and a crescent moon bright
paved a pale silver road ‘cross the ocean of night,
when a hand, green and slimy, slowly appeared
in a porthole close by–it was what I most feared!”
“Beset by the Glask, those heartless wild beasts!
They rip people apart, gnaw their bones for a feast!”
“So I’d been told! I stood by petrified,
unable to move, my eyes growing wide…
when your elderly uncle hove into view,
and reached out a hand, said, ‘How do you do?'”
“Oh my goodness! My goodness! Was he killed on the spot?
Please tell me, oh please, please tell me he’s not..!”
“No, the Glask took his hand and shook it just so,
pulled himself through the port, and do you know
he was tiny, a midget, just barely as tall
as your little dog Big! They’re really quite small
with innocent eyes, and their ears are like fins,
with faces most given to wide happy grins!
He stood there before us on his leg-tail
and bowed to us, saying, ‘Forgive me, but bail
out your boat! You must do so right now
for Coracle’s leaking, the silly old cow.’
Then he banged on the deck and shouted her name,
‘A screw-worm has bitten your bottom again!’
She woke with a start and cried, ‘Hurry up!
Bail me right out with a bucket or cup!’
“With no time to ask questions we set to our task,
saved by that friendly, considerate Glask.
And if weren’t for your uncle, feckless and soft
I’d’ve fought back and thrown the beast off!”
“They still make me shudder, nasty and green!”
“You wouldn’t think that if you’d seen what I’ve seen!”
🙂
Poem Copyright (C) 2010 Tom Radcliffe
Y’know, I proofed the damned thing three times and still missed the repeat of “ask” in the first line and the extraneous “the” in the second line! Argh! 🙂
The first two lines should read (with apologies to Poe):
“What next?” quoth the stranger, “it’s funny you ask,
for what came aboard was a three-legged Glask!”
Some people live in search of grace. I live in search of a copy-editor!
The rest of the poem I’m kind of pleased with, and really like this image. Evocative and open-ended. Now will Coracle sink, leaving them adrift? Or will they reach the shore in time, perhaps towed by a friendly Manatree, a kind of oceanic Ent…
I love this one Tom! and to be honest, I read right through the mistakes twice without seeing them. Anyway, it’s great – and a great Seussian moment with the dispelling of unfounded prejudice 🙂
Coracle is way too cute to sink – we’ll have to see what happens next!
4444\z (additional comment added by cat running across keyboard – I think it means she approves of the poem 😉
This sounds so good when read out loud!
And this image looks great, especially the larger version!
Thanks Max – I like the way this turned out too!
Thanks Max! Poetry the way I define it is “Speech in which the rhythmical structure dominates the grammatical structure”, and I’m very much in favour of poetry as a spoken art. I generally read it aloud while composing, and I’m glad you’re enjoying reading it that way too!
Based on careful analysis of the keystrokes I think your cat is a pacer, not a trotter…
LOL 😀
fantastic….and just close enough to the familiar to be plausible (for a dreamer like me): “a screw-worm has bitten yourt bottom again” – I love it.
Hilary, I am just catchning up and love the images, and Tom’s poetry. I agree with Max, it askes to be spoken aloud.
Thanks Les! Glad you keep visiting!