The MVC Literary Journal

It was a grisly spectacle that day,

At chilly Executioner’s dock,

A sea breeze blew towards the gallows,

As seven struck the clock.

Upon one scaffold stood a man,

With fancy attire from head to toe,

But on his face he wore a panicked look,

The daybreak was his foe.

It was the infamous William Kidd,

Known for his piracy throughout the land,

Next to Kidd stood a man with a hood,

A wooden lever in his hand.

Hundreds of spectators encircled the gallows,

Eagerly anticipating the sight,

When the hangman would lift the lever,

And Kidd would dance in the light.

Kidd was not a typical pirate,

He sailed under the English flag sure enough,

He was accused of smuggling while at sea,

So his ship was intercepted along with his stuff.

The British Royal Navy took him to London,

There he had his trial,

When the judge asked him if he was a pirate,

Kidd was in complete denial.

Suddenly, the sun rose!

The hour had finally come!

The townsfolk gave a mighty shout,

Kidd was finally done.

The trapdoor opened with a creak,

Kidd fell through quickly,

He began to dance his jig,

And those who saw it felt sickly.

In a moment, though the rope snapped,

Kidd hit the ground on the slope,

Now the pirate could get away,

The rope on the pole had broken.

The hangman said, “Not so fast!”

He forced a pistol at Kidd’s chest,

And guided Kidd back up the scaffold,

Without giving him a rest.

Then they strung up Kidd a second time,

With a newer, stronger rope,

Within a few minutes Kidd danced no more,

His neck had finally broken.

Then they chopped off his head,

And placed his carcass in a frame,

And displayed the frame on the edge of the Channel,

To warn all English sailors, “All pirates earn the same.”

Labels: 2007: Belles Lettres