Pirates!
And other things my father warned me about.
My father read to me when I was a child. On Sundays when we got the Asia edition of the Stars and Stripes newspaper, we would all pile onto the sofa crowded up against him as he read the comics to us. Usually he would employ his normal voice, but sometimes he would shift into a fake German accent (the US Army taught him German during World War II) and we would all loudly protest until he stopped. In the evenings, though, when it was time for bed, he would pull down Volume 2 of the Childcraft set that came with our World Book Encyclopedia and read poetry to us. There were many wonderful poems that lodged themselves into my life at that time and I would like to share this one with you along with photos I made of my friend Michael.
Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee
By Mildred Plew Meigs - first published by Child Life Magazine in 1923
Ho, for the Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee!
He was as wicked as wicked could be,
But oh, he was perfectly gorgeous to see!
The Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee.
His conscience, of course, was as black as a bat,
But he had a floppety plume on his hat
And when he went walking it jiggled - like that!
The plume of the Pirate Dowdee.
His coat it was handsome and cut with a slash,
And often as ever he twirled his mustache
Deep down in the ocean the mermaids went splash,
Because of Don Durk of Dowdee.
Moreover, Dowdee had a purple tattoo,
And struck in his belt where he buckled it through
Were a dagger, a dirk, and a squizzamaroo,
For fierce was the Pirate Dowdee.
So fearful he was he would shoot at a puff,
And always at sea when the weather grew rough
He drank from a bottle and wrote on his cuff,
Did Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee.
Oh, he had a cutlass that swung at his thigh
And he had a parrot called Pepperkin Pye,
And a zigzaggy scar at the end of his eye
Had Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee.
He kept in a cavern, this buccaneer bold,
A curious chest that was covered with mould,
And all of his pockets were jingly with gold!
Oh jing! went the gold of Dowdee.
His conscience, of course it was crook’d like a squash,
But both of his boots made a slickery slosh,
And he went through the world with a wonderful swash,
Did Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee.
It’s true he was wicked as wicked could be,
His sins they outnumbered a hundred and three,
But oh, he was perfectly gorgeous to see,
The Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee.
