The Vicious Circle By Lee Cassanell

Day twenty nine and the rum had run out I woke up in the hold with the driest of mouths In a dress made of lace and a pain in my arse I recalled being tied to the foot of the mast Then recoiled at the thought of the cabin boys fate There were sharks off the bough so we used him as bait And his screams as the fiends shredded meat from his chops Made us laugh as the wrack broke our ship on the rocks Oh we sobbed at the sight of the splintering hull And the Island we hit had no trace of a pub But the galley was sure they could whip something up From the Amazon grapes and acacia pulp For a week we survived on the memory of grog Till the juice of the fruit was fermented and strong For a while we were glad to be rid of the shakes But the madness crept into our camp like a snake I awoke in the night to the carpenters screams He was taking an axe to a coconut tree When I asked why the hell he was the carving the bark He said God had asked him to assemble an ark I was moments away from expressing my doubt When I heard the faint sound of the sail maker shout We are dirt We are cursed This is death This is dream There's a devil out there and he's coming for me As the camp came alive in a babble of tongues I reached into my boot and I loaded my gun Then assured the poor soul he had nothing to fear Till I realised the man had been dead for a year I remember the beasts and the flickering flames I remember the blood that I licked from my plate I remember the flesh that I tore with my nails To the cries of the damned and the singing of whales. It was weeks before they saw the plume of the smoke From the crosses that lit every inch of the coast As they wandered ashore a few sailors threw up At the sight of the pikes and the heads on the top They found me in the caves building chairs out of bones I was hit on the head and dragged off to the hold I was told I'd be hanged when they docked into port And I longed for the drop and the snap of the rope But the boat had got lost in the mists of the sea They had eaten the biscuits and drank all the tea. Then from high up on deck I heard somebody shout It is day twenty nine and the rum has run out ...

Copyright © Lee Cassanell 2009

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Lee Cassanell
Click for Home Page	Click for Index Page

Poetry - Jesus (Who's He?) By Bernard Franklin
	Sometimes I pray so hard at Christmas That the world will look again, At the reasons why we have to take Sweet Jesus name in vain. Where once the commercial side of Christmas Was a seedy sin we bore, It's now outstripped the gospel's teaching Read more...

Poetry - Commercial Christmas By Mark Walmsley
	At last it's here the twenty fifth of December The excitement, anticipation all our friends we remember Food and presents, decorations in all their glory Candles, mistletoe, mulled wine, chestnuts and holly But in the North Pole, all is misery and gloom No elves are working, no toys in any room Last Christmas used all the money that was left Read more...

Poetry - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas By Bronwyn Ellis
	Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. But nobody lay sound asleep in their beds, They were all sat in A and E, pissed out their heads. There was Dancer and Prancer, the twins from East Hull, No teeth and a beard, but they still tried to pull. They drooled at the mouth, as they clutched their gold purses, Read more...

Poetry - Tidings of Comfort and Joy? By Terry Ireland

The Sally Army band play their Carols in the street, Deftly being avoided by hurrying scurrying feet Of those busy shoppers hoping they can still Find more alleged bargains this season of good will. She sees pinched strained faces of those passing by, Notices how very few will look her in the eye; Read more...

Poetry - The Way You Love Me By Bronwyn Ellis
	We kissed for hours One thing led to another And as I let my breath recover You held me tight as if to say Thank you Not I love you ...Just Thank you I pressed my lips against your head Read more...

Poetry - Sweet As A Nut By Mike Watts

I'm under the shower Just about finished I turn the dial Squeak back my wet hair I'm done I pull back the curtain And with one foot up On the side of the bath Read more...

Poetry - Cornflower Blue By Dayne Coyne
	I have seen you down the pubs and down the gay clubs Seen you walking past my window in the evening You've got hazy eyes of cornflower blue Yes, you've got hazy eyes of cornflower blue Yes, you've got hazy eyes of cornflower blue And that night that we went for a pizza Did they shine with a different hue? Read more...

Poetry - Middle Age Blues By Terry Ireland

Kids and tobacco, you've got to be joking. Filter tips and low tar you don't call that smoking. Do you remember Senior Service and Capstan Full Strength? Full of lethal potential every inch of their length. You cleared your tubes with a good morning cough Read more...

Poetry - A Not So Subtle Reminder By Joe Hakim

I don't know what I was thinking - it was probably some half-baked way to demonstrate my masculinity or something equally as stupid. I was drunk, of course, and for some reason it seemed Read more...

Poetry - This is Love? By Phil Pretheroe

	Good life, nice life, smiles, a justifyingly uplifting, guilt free swagger. No care in the world, happiness, and content... Read more...

Poetry - Fun and Games By Mike Watts

1:07 am I'm battling the shits And an agony so intense I feel as though rats Are tearing their way Out of me I double over and clutch My shins Read more...

Poetry - Posh Girl By Jim Higo

Your faux civility knows no bounds, You smile at me like a Thai waitress, and for a second you almost persuade me that you are genuinely interested in what I'm saying. But then you nod when you shouldn't and I know you don't care; your mind is elsewhere, like when intelligent people are forced to sit through soap operas. Read more...

Poetry - Arts and Culture in Hull By Joe Hakim

it's about who your friends are and the circles you move in it's about the boxes you tick and the forms you fill out it's about being the same as everyone else and crushing individuality it's about appealing to the Read more...

Poetry - Metal Box By Dean Wilson

	Meet me in the long grass by what's left of the factory where our mothers worked and I will count the freckles on your back. Read more...

Poetry - Hyde and Seek By Bronwyn Ellis
	By the light of the day he is merely a shadow, A dark faceless echo pursuing my steps, He stalks through the mirrors to haunt my reflection, A secretive burden too long I have kept. A phantom of sins which denied my suppression, Laid dormant for years in the wells of my brain, But curious Henry with notions and potions, Awakened the slumbering evils again.Read more...

Poetry - Garbage By Terry Ireland

There was a memorial in the Cathedral Then one father took a stand, Refusing to grasp and shake The ex leaders bloodied hand. He was dragged up by his boot straps, on an inner city sink estate, from a family full of love, lived in a street full of hate. And he joined the British army Read more...

Poetry - Boxing The Compass By Carol Coiffait

You can stay in one place only long enough to find your way to the chip-shop, the bus-stop and back home Or longer to make a net Read more...