by Gerald Yelle

None of the sailors ate spinach
and not many mutinied.
The captain was a liar
but he was no match for Queeg
and forget Ahab,
even if all he did was hold me
hostage a minute with his
whacked-out sidekick, a guy
with a funnel on his head.
Steam shot out and scared me
so I hid under a bush
and a squirrel brushed by
and chewed off a hank of hair.
I went out with an empty
bushel basket on my head
and hung around with
the Box Tops and Shondells.
People hated Shondells,
especially the way
they did “Crimson
and Clover” over and over.
Everyone said they were high.