LAST NIGHT

By David Burroughs

Last night the pirates came
with barrels of contraband.
Bearded and wild
their plastic skin cask husk landing crafts
slipped in
under
our sleepnets

Last night the pirates came
and they laughed
cigarettes glowed bright
on the beach
near our beds
Last night the pirates came
and I'm scared, with joy
how their hurricane lamps swayed
in the shadows
while they tethered strange silhouettes
to the shingley shore

Last night the pirates came
in their coracles
old socks sewn to beancan backbone
smoking opium pipes by the rocks
weaving legends
that surrounded my dreaming body
like curls of sleepy smoke
and they were laughing

Last night the pirates came
with fine tobaccos
hashish, dates and port
silver kettles
potbellied kitchens
terracotta roses
hemp ropes
snd solar cells

Last night the pirates came
and sang to the sea
with a driftwood guitar
and a tea­chest jimbe
sea shell rainstorms
sparkling in diesel cans
and the haunt of the morning conch calling Neptune

Last night the pirates came
and stole me away.


This poem won the Big Issue poetry competition. The Big Issue is a magazine sold to help the homeless in Britain. Their poetry competition was open to anyone who had been homeless for a year.

If you like this poem, and would like to give a donation to the Big Issue Founation, you can donate online through their web site.


Thanks to the Big Issue for permission to use the poem, which is Copyright (c) The Big Issue 1995, to Gray Ghost for the background graphic, and to Geocities for hosting this web page; if you ask Geocities you can get a free web page too.

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