The Crab That Played With The Sea

China-going P. & O.'s
Pass Pau Amma's playground close,
And his Pusat Tasek lies
Near the track of most B.I.'s.
N.Y.K. and N.D.L.
Know Pau Amma's home as well
As the Fisher of the Sea knows
"Bens," M.M.'s and Rubattinos.
But (and this is rather queer)
A.T.L.'s can qiot come here;
O. and O. and D.O.A.
Must go round another way.
Orient, Anchor, Bibby, Hall,
Never go that way at all.
U.C.S. would have a fit
If it found itself on it.
And if "Beavers" took their cargoes
To Penang instead of Lagos,
Or a fat Shaw-Savill bore
Passengers to Singapore,
Or a White Star were to try a
Little trip to Sourabaya,
Or a B.S.A. went on
Past Natal to Cheribon,
The the great Mr. Lloyds would come
With a wire and drag them home!

..    .    .    .

You will know what my riddle means
When you've eaten mangosteens.

Rudyard

Rudyard Kipling was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. His notable works include the novels 'The Jungle Book,' 'Kim,' and the poem 'If—.' Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907, making him the youngest recipient of the award.

Rudyard

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Just So Stories

        When the cabin port-holes are dark and green
            Because of the seas outside;
        When the ship goes wop (with a wiggle between)
        And the steward falls into the soup-tureen,
            And trunks begin to slide;
        When Nursey lies on the floor in a heap,
        And Mummy tells you to let her sleep,
            And you aren't waked or washed or dressed,
        Why, then you will know (if you haven't guessed)
        You're "Fifty North and Forty West!"
                                                        How the Whale Got His Throat

        The Camel's hump is an ugly lump
            Which well you may see at the Zoo;
        But uglier yet is the hump we get
            From having too little to do.

        Kiddie...

Rudyard

Chapter Headings - Just-So Stories

When the cabin port-holes are dark and green
Because of the seas outside;
When the shipgoes wop (with a wiggle between)
And the steward falls into the soup-tureen,
And the trunks begin to slide;
When Nursey lies on the floor in a heap,
And Mummy tells you to let her sleep,
And you are nt waked or washed or dressed,
Why, then you will know (if you have nt guessed)
Youre Fifty North and Forty West!
How the Whale Got His Throat.

The Camels hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.

Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we havent enough to do-oo-oo,
We get the hump,
Cameelious hump,
The hump that is black and blue!

We climb out of bed with a fro...

Rudyard

The Junk And The Dhow

Once a pair of savages found a stranded tree.
(One-piecee stick -pidgin two piecee man.
Straddle-um-paddle-um-push -um off to sea.
That way Foleign Debbil-boat began.)
But before, and before, and ever so long before
Any shape of sailing-craft was known,
The Junk and Dhow had a stern and a bow,
And a mast and a sail of their own ahoy! alone!
As they crashed across the Oceans on their own!

Once there was a pirate-ship, being blown ashore
(Plitty soon pilum up, s'posee no can tack..
Seven-piecee stlong man pullum sta'boa'd oar.
That way bling her head alound and sail-o back.)
But before, and before, an ever so long before
Grand Commander Noah took the wheel,
The Junk and the Dhow, though they look like anyhow,
Had rudders reaching deep below their keel ahoy...

Rudyard

Pondicherry

    Chess pieces resting upon the jade
    mantle piece
    see sampans move quietly
    thru warm night,
    rich bundles of bougainvillea
    crowd market squares
    where deck chairs extend
    to the Persian Gulf.

    Leisured gentlemen
    finger walking canes,
    hold eyelids thick as goblets,
    sharp tridents beside private lairs.

    Skin in puffy whiteness bulges under
    lamp's white glare, becomes copra
    gathered
    miles from Pondicherry, sesame oil
    in rotting casks.

    And the Indian heat, closing with
    certitude
    akin to the trance of the snake
    charmer,
    holds his flute poised with the
    Bengali lancer
    riding a slow crop over the prostrate
    polo ball.

Paul Cameron Brown

Pondicherry

    Chess pieces resting upon the jade mantle piece
    see sampans move quietly
    thru warm night,
    rich bundles of bougainvillaea crowd market squares
    where deck chairs extend
    to the Persian Gulf.

    Leisured gentlemen
    finger walking canes,
    hold eyelids thick as goblets,
    sharp tridents beside private lairs.

    Skin in puffy whiteness bulges under
    lamp's white glare, becomes copra gathered
    miles from Pondicherry, sesame
    oil in rotting casks.

    And the Indian heat, closing with certitude
    akin to the trance of the snake charmer,
    holds his flute poised with the Bengali lancer
    riding a slow crop over the prostrate polo ball.

Paul Cameron Brown

Merrow Down

There runs a road by Merrow Down,
A grassy track to-day it is
An hour out Guildford town,
Above the river Wey it is.

Here, when they heard the hors-bells ring,
The ancient Britons dressed and rode
To which the dark Phoenicians bring
Their goods along the Western Road.

Yes, here, or hereabouts, they met
To hold their racial talks and such
To barter beads for Whitby jet,
And tin for gay shell torques and such.


But long ago before that time
(When bison used to roam on it)
Did Taffy and her Daddy climb
That Down, and had their home on it.

Then beavers built in Broadstonebrook
And made a swamp where Bramley stands;
And bears from Shere would come and look
For Taffimai where Shamley stands.

The Wey, that Taffy ...

Rudyard