The Pirate that Drank Tea
The Pirate came out of his cabin
To drink his tea
“Hey Captain!” said a hand
“Look, there’s no wind!”
And the Pirate went to the wheel
And looked on the ocean
And yes indeed
There was no wind
“How do you sail,” he grumbled
“If you have no wind?
And for that matter,
How do you drink tea?”
The men bent their backs
And rowed for many hours
To the land of America
Where the lights shone
And the cars rode the highways
Wind or not
There he found the Archaeologist
And said, “Who has seen the wind?
Have you seen it lately?
It seems to have been misplaced.
It won’t blow. It just won’t.”
“Honestly I hadn’t noticed,” said the Archaeologist
“But let’s have a look upstairs.”
And so they stood on the heated rock
Of a house built in the desert
And though the shimmers rose
From waves of sand
The Archaeologist said, “You’re right!
This is all just very still. Come with me.
We’ll go to the observatory, and see what’s what.”
And they looked into the sky
To see the hole in the clouds
A hole with glass sides and rainbow edges
Where the wind had escaped
“We have to find help,” said the Archaeologist
“For look sharply, Pirate –
The wind has gone to the moon.
Why would it go?
What made it so?
Well there is someone who can help us.
So let’s go. We’ll take the minivan.”
And so they went to the desert
Bumping over the ruts
To a great cavern
Where the Robot Lord lived
“What, the wind gone?” he asked
As he unraveled gear by gear and limb from limb
“That seems a cruel theft.”
He hummed and whirred
And considered the two men
And finally he said, “Come into my chestplate.
And we will go to the moon
To see what has become of your wind.”
They blasted into the sky
Past a hand glider and a jetliner
Higher, through clouds that
Were frozen in time
Into the cold of space
Where the Pirate wished for tea
Heated blueberry tea
That made his hands warm
But then they landed on the moon
And the Robot Lord strode
Over craters and other nic-nacs
Until they reached the dark side
And saw a huge dome in the gloom
A dome made of feathers and chrome
Bound with strings of Christmas lights
And at the table underneath
There were Slug Monsters
Eating chunks of wind
With their vegetables and pies
The Robot Lord strode under the dome
And the Pirate jumped from his chestplate
“Stop that!” he cried. “You are eating our wind!”
But the Slug Monsters shrugged
“We like to eat wind. It tastes great,
And is so very good for us.”
“But we need it!” said the Archaeologist
“The wind makes our waves
And gives us our lights
And for some, it even fills our sails
Why, it makes people sing
It makes them think of things
And sometimes it gives us
Bundles of poetry, or
Stories and books that we like to read.”
“So what?” said the Slug Monsters
Burping up their meal of wind
But when they saw that the three friends were still there
The Slug Monsters rose from the table
And raced at them with tridents of mop handles and diamond rings
The Robot Lord stomped on them
He dug his metal heels and twisted
And those he caught in his hand
He twisted and he stretched
While the Archaeologist slashed
With the end of his leather whip
Or pulled the antennae from any Slug Monster
That happened to come near
And as the battle raged
There under the dome of feathers and chrome
The Pirate Lord snuck under the grand table
And collected pieces of wind
He stuffed them into his pockets
He mashed them under his clothes
And soon he was so big with wind
That he began to float off the ground
“Moon dust,” muttered the Pirate,
Smelling some Slug Monster tea
“But this will take too long like this.”
And then he saw the great machine
In the middle of the dome
The one with the gears and the steam
And the glimmer of moon gold
The one bulging with the breath
Of the wind it held trapped
And so the Pirate climbed
And so the Pirate floated
To the silver stopper that lay
At the very top of the steam machine
“No you musn’t!” cried the Slug King
“Please no, for we shall starve
In the coldness of the dark side!”
But the Pirate took out the stopper
And made a storm on the moon
A great dusty storm of Earth wind
That rose to the height of the dome
That shattered the feathers and chrome
And when it saw the hole in the sky
And the tunnel through which it had travelled
The wind whipped through the opening
On its way home to Earth
The Slug Monsters shed their tears
As they went back to their vegetables and pies
And a few began to rebuild the dome
As the Slug King sat in pieces of the machine
And the three friends soared back
Through space and then the clouds
As a breeze shifted and whirled
As the waves raced and twirled
As the dust shifted
And as the snows drifted
The Archaeologist went to his home
And night after night stood on the roof
To make sure the wind was always there
And the Robot Lord stayed in his cavern
But came out more than ever
For he was glad to soak his gears
In the wind that came over the desert
And the Pirate sailed the seas
Around the islands and the continents
There might not be any gold
Or any treasure left to plunder
But at least, he thought,
When he awoke each morning,
There was tea in the pot,
And wind in his sails.
*this is about my friend the Pirate (http://ligoeditions.wordpress.com/)
Trent–you might have written this for your friend, but I see this as a wonderful children’s book, illustrated. LOVED.
I agree with Susan…I was turning the pages with my grandson as I read. Even the smashing, twisting, and stretching stayed in…the cold suits you mon frere!
Yes, my little guy would love this–especially the battle on the moon.
definitely! and what little boy doesn’t love a good pirate story?
And better still, a pirate who drinks blueberry tea…
ooooh, forgot to mention the blueberry tea….i’m a blueberry coffee kind of gal, but the tea sounds great and what an interesting detail yeah?
I think I need to start a Trent fan club. You in?
but of course!
YAY! We’ll call it Trent’s crazy southern sisters, or some such madness.
he’s fond of southern belle….we shall work with that perhaps?
Yes, that could work.
You guys are hilarious. And I am fond of both of you, incidentally. But really, check out the Pirate, he is a poet in his own right and he has a very interesting past, and some highly-charged political posts at times (you’d like em Susan). This story was for my son, I’ll be telling it to him tonight. Think my older daughter will like it too.
I am going to read this to my little guy. However, get this illustrated and published, it is too good to just have it on my screen.
Appreciate that Susan, and if I could draw at all, I might give it a whirl. I must admit I had some interesting images in my head when this was being written this morning.
Just so you know, I just read this to Aryn, and he PAID ATTENTION through the whole thing, and loved it 😉
Resounding critical acclaim from the Daniels household.
That is high praise, sitting through the whole thing. Will have to see what the kids and their cousins think tonight.
Let me know. Have to say, Aryn is a tough audience–hard to get him to sit still, and he sat and listened. Great work, T.
By the way, my daughter could illustrate this for you. Seriously.
Well now there’s an interesting suggestion… I have seen some of her stuff, would be interesting to see what she saw in her head when she read through this.
oh, I will ask her to draw some pics, scan and send to you… Will give her something to do besides drawing avatars for her new online obsession.
Cool. Send them through to my email if you can.
should be able to do that.
I have so much to catch up on… secretly I could forgo all work and other blogs just to bathe in yours. I have yet to happen upon such talent . and I do believe I know what I am talking about. and it is quite interesting and serendipitous to me that you enjoy my work as well . so I expect that your work will one day make it to the shelves BIG TIME and then it will be my goal to own the lot of it.
Thank you Poet – you always make me blush. But I found you first, and I know what I’m talking about – there is a uniqueness and unabashed use of language and voice in your poetry that keeps the poems from being the same poem over and over again with a different topic. I am no poet, but that seems very rare.
laughing.. i forgot you found me first… but the thing is your talent lends such credit to your words for me that I am forced to view my work from a different perspective…. and find my self love blossoming 🙂 …. regardless i think it is a mutual adoration
Direct, colourful, very vivid and no sugary stuff in that wouldn’ t be on place about the Pirate we know.
Hat off – you have really put work in it!
I have been thinking of this one for a while. I find the Pirate very interesting, and slightly self-effacing perhaps. As a person, he seems to have a life worth writing about, not that this post reflects his life at all – but a gentle swashbuckler story seemed to be in order.
One to hold to heart.
I feel young again. Happy New Year, Mr. Lun
To you too J. Be young and be well.
This felt really…magical. I enjoyed the adventure.
Thanks much. It was a fun write.
I love these in the way that I always loved children’s lit. I’m just glad I’m not there when those slug monsters decide it’s time to pass some gas.
Crap, that’s a great idea, I should have included something around that. Thanks for the comment and the suggestion. And happy new year by the way.
I think it’s unfair that a human being should have this kindda crazy writing talent.
You are one of the few people whose forthcoming posts I actually look forwaYou are one of the few people whose forthcoming posts I actually look forwaYou are one of the few people whose forthcoming posts I actually look forwaYou are one of the few people whose forthcoming posts I actually look forward to.
And no matter how impressed I am, I will still hungrily demand for the sequel to Morrity. It’s been stuck in my head this past week. Don’t know why. Trent, you also have the unique ability of delivering under
Thank you Doc – you definitely know how to push my buttons you know. As for Morritty, let’s put him next on the docket then, I had a thought about where he might go, so will try to deliver on that one.
or, it’s an essay on the benefits of enlightened self-interest.
It could also be a commentary on environmental mismanagement and the true horror of slugs. You never know.
Reblogged this on Tea with a Pirate and commented:
It doesn’t get better than this!
Glad u did 🙂 its fantastic 🙂
& I though of you while reading this…
it shows a wild imagination not to mention the message knitted beyond the lines…
Peace & Light
The pirate is a unique one.
Wonderfully written 🙂 definitely a story book worthy of illustration 🙂
Thanks much, Jenn. Started out as a story to be read to my kids actually.
Reblogged this on John Looks Out On Life and commented:
How do you sail with no wind? Th captain should have that answer right quick
“Break out the oars you lazy sea dogs, and don’t make me spill my tea”
I am about sick of my comments not being posted as written.
Was saying you also had the unique ability of delivering under pressure.
Well, I push buttons anytime I’m on wordpress. Who doesn’t! (Well, except the technologically pampered ones who use touch-screen devices.)
Please, hurry Morrity along!
Working on Morritty doc, thinking this weekend I’ll sit down and write. If you have any thoughts or recommendations for inclusion, I’m all ears.
Hope you’re doing well.
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