From The Birmingham Age Herald, November 25, 1914. By Berton Braley.
Dull trade hath bound me in its grip,
And never shall I be free,
Yet I dream of the decks of a pirate ship
In the roll of the open sea;
I dream of the pennant dread and black
That flies at the mast alway,
As we swoop along on a merchant’s track
In the sting of the flying spray!
Oh, I am a law-abiding chap,
Yet deep in my heart I’d be
A buccaneer with a scarlet cap
And a Terror of the Sea;
As lawless and ruthless a bandit brute
As history ever knew,
Roaming the seas in search of loot
At the head of an evil crew!
Oh, here at home I am meek and mild,
A man with a family,
Yet I dream of deeds that are dark and wild
And of red, red fights at sea;
And under my breath I softly hum
A stave from a pirate song,
And my throat grows parched for pirate rum,
For I have been dry so long!
My life is ordered and shaped and bound
And kept to its rule and line,
But my thoughts can wander the whole world round
And my dreams—my dreams are mine!
And I hungrily long to be
A pirate chief on a low, black ship
In the roll of the open sea!