A Salty Dog

<br>(Brooker / Reid)<br><br>`All hands on deck, we`ve run afloat!` I heard the captain cry<br>`Explore the ship, replace the cook: let no one leave alive!`<br>Across the straits, around the Horn: how far can sailors fly?<br>A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive <br><br>We sailed for parts unknown to man, where ships come home to die<br>No lofty peak, nor fortress bold, could match our captain`s eye <br>Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call <br>A sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all <br><br>We fired the gun, and burnt the mast, and rowed from ship to shore<br>The captain cried, we sailors wept: our tears were tears of joy <br>Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land <br>A salty dog, this seaman`s log: your witness my own hand