The Wreck upon the Rum

The Wreck Upon the Rum

 

Having Murdered a Large Number of Bullhead Fry

With Only the Intention of Pleasing My Fellow Man,

As Such Fish Are Thought to Muck Up a River

 

By Francis “Frenchie” Costello

 

Like one sweet blush of innocence,

Life swirled into my trap,

 

And like a ghoul, I took it up

To cradle in my lap

 

It struggled, wriggling in the sun,

And sparkled till it died,

 

And I regretted what I’d done

And shook it side to side

 

I poured its wreck into the Rum

And watched it drift away -

 

And still, it drifts upon the Rum,

In token to that day.