Collected Poems Volume II Part 12

BACCHUS AND THE PIRATES

Half a hundred terrible pig-tails, pirates famous in song and story, Hoisting the old black flag once more, in a palmy harbour of Caribbee, "Farewell" we waved to our brown-skinned la.s.ses, and chorussing out to the billows of glory, Billows a-glitter with rum and gold, we followed the sunset over the sea.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred broad-sheet pirates When the world was young!_

Sea-roads plated with pieces of eight that rolled to a heaven by rum made mellow, Heaved and coloured our barque's black nose where the Lascar sang to a twinkling star, And the tangled bow-sprit plunged and dipped its point in the west's wild red and yellow, Till the curved white moon crept out astern like a naked knife from a blue cymar.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred terrible pirates When the world was young!_

Half a hundred tarry pig-tails, Teach, the chewer of gla.s.s, had taught us, Taught us to balance the plank ye walk, your little plank-bridge to Kingdom Come: Half a score had sailed with Flint, and a dozen or so the devil had brought us Back from the pit where Blackbeard lay, in Beelzebub's bosom, a-screech for rum.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred piping pirates When the world was young!_

There was Captain Hook (of whom ye have heard--so called from his terrible cold steel twister, His own right hand having gone to a shark with a taste for skippers on pirate-trips), There was Silver himself, with his cruel crutch, and the blind man Pew, with a phiz like a blister, Gouged and white and dreadfully dried in the reek of a thousand burning ships.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred cut-throat pirates When the world was young!_

With our silver buckles and French c.o.c.ked hats and our skirted coats (they were growing greener, But green and gold look well when spliced! We'd trimmed 'em up wi' some fine fresh lace) Bravely over the seas we danced to the horn-pipe tune of a concertina, Cutla.s.ses jetting beneath our skirts and cambric handkerchiefs all in place.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred elegant pirates When the world was young!_

And our black prow grated, one golden noon, on the happiest isle of the Happy Islands, An isle of Paradise, fair as a gem, on the sparkling breast of the wine-dark deep, An isle of blossom and yellow sand, and enchanted vines on the purple highlands, Wi' grapes like melons, nay cl.u.s.tering suns, a-sprawl over cliffs in their noonday sleep.

_While earth goes round let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred dream-struck pirates When the world was young!_

And lo! on the soft warm edge of the sand, where the sea like wine in a golden noggin Creamed, and the rainbow-bubbles clung to his flame-red hair, a white youth lay, Sleeping; and now, as his drowsy grip relaxed, the cup that he squeezed his grog in Slipped from his hand and its purple dregs were mixed with the flames and flakes of spray.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred diffident pirates When the world was young!_

And we suddenly saw (had we seen them before? They were coloured like sand or the pelt on his shoulders) His head was pillowed on two great leopards, whose breathing rose and sank with his own; Now a pirate is bold, but the vision was rum and would _call_ for rum in the best of beholders, And it seemed we had seen Him before, in a dream, with that flame-red hair and that vine-leaf crown.

_And the earth went round, and the rum went round, And softlier now we sung: Half a hundred awe-struck pirates When the world was young!_

Now Timothy Hook (of whom ye have heard, with his talon of steel) our doughty skipper, A man that, in youth being brought up pious, had many a book on his cabin-shelf, Suddenly caught at a comrade's hand with the tearing claws of his cold steel flipper And cried, "Great Thunder and Brimstone, boys, I've hit it at last!

_'Tis Bacchus himself._"

_And the earth went round, and the rum went round, And never a word we sung: Half a hundred tottering pirates When the world was young!_

He flung his French c.o.c.ked hat i' the foam (though its lace was the best of his wearing apparel): We stared at him--Bacchus! The sea reeled round like a wine-vat splashing with purple dreams, And the sunset-skies were dashed with blood of the grape as the sun like a new-staved barrel Flooded the tumbling West with wine and spattered the clouds with crimson gleams.

_And the earth went round, and our heads went round, And never a word we sung: Half a hundred staggering pirates When the world was young!_

Down to the ship for a fishing-net our crafty Hook sent Silver leaping; Back he came on his pounding crutch, for all the world like a kangaroo; And we caught the net and up to the Sleeper on hands and knees we all went creeping, Flung it across him and staked it down! 'Twas the best of our dreams and the dream was true.

_And the earth went round, and the rum went round, And loudly now we sung: Half a hundred jubilant pirates When the world was young!_

We had caught our G.o.d, and we got him aboard ere he woke (he was more than a little heavy); Glittering, beautiful, flushed he lay in the lurching bows of the old black barque, As the sunset died and the white moon dawned, and we saw on the island a star-bright bevy Of naked Baccha.n.a.ls stealing to watch through the whispering vines in the purple dark!

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our capstan song we sung: Half a hundred innocent pirates When the world was young!_

Beautiful under the sailing moon, in the tangled net, with the leopards beside him, Snared like a wild young red-lipped merman, wilful, petulant, flushed he lay; While Silver and Hook in their big sea-boots and their boat-cloaks guarded and gleefully eyed him, Thinking what Bacchus might do for a seaman, like standing him drinks, as a man might say.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, We sailed away and sung: Half a hundred fanciful pirates When the world was young!_

All the grog that ever was heard of, G.o.ds, was it stowed in our sure possession?

O, the pictures that broached the skies and poured their colours across our dreams!

O, the thoughts that tapped the sunset, and rolled like a great torchlight procession Down our throats in a glory of glories, a roaring splendour of golden streams!

_And the earth went round, and the stars went round, As we hauled the sheets and sung: Half a hundred infinite pirates When the world was young!_

Beautiful, white, at the break of day, He woke and, the net in a smoke dissolving, He rose like a flame, with his yellow-eyed pards and his flame-red hair like a windy dawn, And the crew kept back, respectful like, till the leopards advanced with their eyes revolving, Then up the rigging went Silver and Hook, and the rest of us followed with case-knives drawn.

_While earth goes round, let rum go round, Our cross-tree song we sung: Half a hundred terrified pirates When the world was young!_

And "Take me home to my happy island!" he says. "Not I," sings Hook, "by thunder; We'll take you home to a happier isle, our palmy harbour of Caribbee!"

"You won't!" says Bacchus, and quick as a dream the planks of the deck just heaved asunder, And a mighty Vine came straggling up that grew from the depths of the wine-dark sea.

_And the sea went round, and the skies went round, As our cross-tree song we sung: Half a hundred horrified pirates When the world was young!_

We were anch.o.r.ed fast as an oak on land, and the branches clutched and the tendrils quickened, And bound us writhing like snakes to the spars! Ay, we hacked with our knives at the boughs in vain, And Bacchus laughed loud on the decks below, as ever the tough sprays tightened and thickened, And the blazing hours went by, and we gaped with thirst and our ribs were racked with pain

_And the skies went round, and the sea swam round, And we knew not what we sung: Half a hundred lunatic pirates When the world was young!_

Bunch upon bunch of sunlike grapes, as we writhed and struggled and raved and strangled, Bunch upon bunch of gold and purple daubed its bloom on our baked black lips.

Cl.u.s.tering grapes, O, bigger than pumpkins, just out of reach they bobbed and dangled Over the vine-entangled sails of that most dumbfounded of pirate ships!

_And the sun went round, and the moon came round, And mocked us where we hung: Half a hundred maniac pirates When the world was young!_

Over the waters the white moon winked its bruised old eye at our bowery prison, When suddenly we were aware of a light such as never a moon or a ship's lamp throws, And a shallop of pearl, like a Nautilus sh.e.l.l, came shimmering up as by magic arisen, With sails: of silk and a glory around it that turned the sea to a rippling rose.

_And our heads went round, and the stars went round, At the song that cruiser sung: Half a hundred goggle-eyed pirates When the world was young!_

Half a hundred rose-white Baccha.n.a.ls hauled the ropes of that rosy cruiser!

Over the seas they came and laid their little white hands on the old black barque; And Bacchus he ups and he steps aboard: "Hi, stop!" cries Hook, "you frantic old boozer!

Belay, below there, don't you go and leave poor pirates to die in the dark!"

_And the moon went round, and the stars went round, As they all pushed off and sung: Half a hundred ribbonless Baccha.n.a.ls When the world was young!_

Over the seas they went and Bacchus he stands, with his yellow-eyed leopards beside him, High on the p.o.o.p of rose and pearl, and kisses his hand to us, pleasant as pie!

While the Baccha.n.a.ls danced to their tambourines, and the vine-leaves flew, and Hook just eyed him Once, as a man that was brought up pious, and scornfully hollers, "_Well, you ain't shy!_"

_For all around him, vine-leaf crowned, The wild white Baccha.n.a.ls flung!

Nor it wasn't a sight for respectable pirates When the world was young!_

All around that rainbow-Nautilus rippled the bloom of a thousand roses, Nay, but the sparkle of fairy sea-nymphs breasting a fairy-like sea of wine, Swimming around it in murmuring thousands, with white arms tossing; till--all that _we_ knows is The light went out, and the night was dark, and the grapes had burst and their juice was--brine!