Ports

Yo ho! My hearties! Come Aboard!
The sails are spreading in the breeze,
And all is set to go abroad
Upon the seven seas--
To Hongkong, to Antwerp,
Aberdeen or Callao;
To Paita or Taitoosh,
Or Montevideo!

We'll spear the squirming devil-fish
And slash the hog-nosed shark;
Or thru the phosphorescent waves
We'll dive into red coral caves
Pearl fishing, for a lark!
Yo ho! Let's go to Colombo,
To Kaballa or Istanbul
To Singapore or Malaga,
Armuelles or Guam!

We'll see the rusty, crusty crabs
Go up the trees for cocoanuts;
We'll load with copra, coral, shell,
And fill our water-butts;
We'll sleep beneath a royal palm
By smiling, moon-drenched bays,
And kiss the brown Tahitian girls
Where red hybisci blaze.

^__Louisa Cooke Don-Carlos