The Cortés Pirates

Beginning life aboard a ship
smack in the midst of fierce typhoon,
the pirate Jack Sparrow became
a freeboot in search of doubloon.

With complex braiding in his hair,
he was impressive to all crews;
that braiding showed fine craftsmanship
because of knitting needles used.

Jack took command of Wicked Wench,
but later Black Pearl was his ship;
He weathered each and every fear
when seas saw surge and tides would rip.

He heard the, “Treasure of Cortés,”
was for the take as tropic wealth;
so he set out in bristling greed
upon the Pearl with pace and stealth.

When they set boot on dreaded shore,
(Isla de Muerta, as it’s called),
a skull and bones was all they found
so they set sail, rag-torn and galled.

They sailed to South America,
a disappointed patch-eyed force;
they crossed through Magellanic Strait,
then south Pacific was their course.

Mighty winds and currents prevailed
but Captain Jack remained composed;
and even in high latitudes,
the Sparrow flew sails unopposed.

So when they came upon a place
that stung with gust and freezing rain,
they wrapped torn shirts around their necks,
but frigid were the ayes domain.

Eureka City they had found,
Arcata Bay their anchor drop;
and even though much time had passed,
their greed for treasure would not stop.

So north in California,
among the sleet and bitter cold,
the pirate crew of the Black Pearl
broke ice in creek and panned for gold.

Lines: 40
Rhythm: 8