odd of the Liver Bird

odd of the liver bird

by Philip Lee

deus nobis haec otia fecit

-Virgil

eh blue which god vouchsafed this perch

so far above the ships at berth

in fervent scenes of graft or work

and did I plead for such a perk

to stand and squawk for what it's worth

a-skulking here all out to lurch

d'ye ken the gulls on yonder church

St. Nicks by name that comb the earth

like sparrows while in belfries lurk

the nightshift bats none miss the quirk

of early worms for there's a dearth

and precious nowt without a search

but micky blue to whom the beak did dirge

flew fleet and dumbly by the giant's verge

next up a passing heron heard

the windy whistling liver bird

to whom this sounded quite absurd

well hark at you disgusted said

to sit atop of all this lead

whyever don't you turn your head

in heaven's name but drop your guard

that jobless men from bars now barred

may drink to how unjust and hard

life is or like the Coogan kid

step father in that film he did

the time by art and dodge outbid

but so in awe of being over-looked

you'd only boo a goose whose gander's cooked

not so I swear by docker's hook

and don't deserve that last rebuke

nor play the drake to sleeping duck

you kick me when I'm down my luck

don't think I'd baulk to plant this duke

between the bills of any crook

that tried to take me for a rook

he's drunk who thinks a fancy's fluke

has pitched me o'er this pool of pluck

some god it was that passed the buck

from eyrie roof in reign to spook

those seamen who his rule forsook

so on the bird would plead of passing folk

if any of them knew which godly bloke

till late one night the bird awoke

amid colliding coils of smoke

to list as owl his tuppence spoke

with copper claws you craft and grope

a feather-brain on tether rope

and brazen wings you're past all hope

the myth of you is out of vogue

a specious cant your windy brogue

you're but the idol of a rogue

no god gave you this perch the globe

to watch no lord of patient Jobe

but bad king John in ermine robe

with falcon seal this borough he enrolled

in subs for which the barons pledged much gold

a moment's whistling wake was held

then dockers' hooks from decks were hurled

and ancient stories of the gulled

retold their souls from oceans pulled

and slaves transported half the world

to die in chains new lives revelled

as like from kings and queens rebelled

the empire's folk their flags unfurled

and union jacks from yardarms culled

the copper hulks turned rotten hulled

to sink while round the globe they curled

their feathers brained and nuts unshelled

thus godforsaken liver bird was penned

to roost in effigy at pier's end

Sock it to 'em!

poetry republic
3 members welcome readers/writers/critics

Books we've read

The Society Of The Poem
by Jonathan Raban

Literary Theory: An Introduction
by Terry Eagleton

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