Poetry Corner

First posted a few days ago, on Cinco de Mayo, this romanticized life of a swab is one of my notions about "keeping" a sense of humor when the going gets rough. Dad was in the Navy, WWII, and he did waken us with "Man your brooms" on mornings when he was not running late for early meetings.

I skipped serving in the armed forces during Vietnam, by turning eighteen just months before the draft ended.

You might notice, I keep revising -- trying to create a better phrasing, rhythm and bounce... so it is a work-in-progress. pd

Eat Up am I
by Pat Darnell

I been to the depression chamber
I been lower than a grass root
I was ground and dabbled
Like pepper on a salad
Till my daddy give me fruit

He’d croon up to our rooms
‘Now hear this; ‘Now hear this, little feet'
‘Sweepers man your brooms'
‘Clean sweep down fore and aft’

[Twheeee ieee wheet]

'Now hear this; are you daft?'
‘Clean sweep down before we eat!’

This is so good
This is so good that
This is so good that the
The Navy eats it
Yeah, the Navy eats it up

I am tired from aches and pains
I been chippin’ paint all morn’
Hidin’ my chaw in my cheek till
O’er the horn warns:
‘Twelve bells’ sailors
Twelve bells, sailors, noon
Sailors, man your spoons!

I spit a wad in the leak...
Yeah I spat t’bacca
'been chewin' in my cheek
So to stop this tiny leak
So I can hurry of to eat

This is so bad
This is so bad that
This is so bad that it’s good

So good, the Navy eats it
Yeah, the Navy eats it up... They do--
The entire floatin’ Navy
At twelve noon, eats it up!

It keeps us all afloat
How we care for our boat
We steam to Omaha and Tuscany
and we visit the China Sea
But what keeps us on our feet
Is three squares a day we eat
...three squares a day we eat

Eat up old sailor boys
Eat up skulduggery
grind and scrape and;
her rust and cracks
...plug her’ ye sea side swabs
...keep our ship grand,

make her seaworthy mates
...move down the line
...wash, repeat ten times
till your hunger is pate

So at noon you will
...clean your plate
Eat up and clean your plate
Because the Navy
'Cause the Navy cannot
The Navy cannot wait.