My Oxford Reference Dictionary tells me that "trick" is "a nautical term for a sailor's turn at the helm, usually two hours".
I do like this poem, perhaps mostly for its rhythm, and I'd like to assure Lance that there is at least one contemporary poet who has the seven-beat line as a resource. The ballad metre is what I started with, and I return to it regularly. Here's one I wrote just last summer:
0There’s a thin slice of lemon
0that’s waltzing through heaven;
our scholars have named it the moon.
0I can warmly pursue it
0and try to review it,
but nothing can match this new tune.
0 There’s a faraway island
0 that glows like a diamond;
a planet, they say, not a star.
0 I can slowly explore it
0 and try to restore it,
but words aren’t a patch on guitar.
0 There’s this lad at the harbour
0 who’s shy of the barber;
his hair tends to tickle his knees.
0 He’s the kind of musician
0 who borrows your kitchen
with never a thank-you or please.
0 Well, we met by the bunkers
0 last summer, two drunkards
pretending the night was yet young.
0 I was strumming my glories.
0 He said: “These here stories
would sound even better if sung.”
0 Well, at first I was wary;
0 the prospect was scary.
Would this mean I’d have to sing lead?
0 But I’ve lost all my scruples
0 as one of his pupils.
I’m high on the will to succeed.
0 There’s a thin slice of lemon
0 that’s waltzing through heaven;
our scholars have named it the moon.
0 I can always construe it
0 and try to see through it,
but nothing can match this new tune.
0 There’s a faraway island
0 that glows like a diamond;
a planet, they say, not a star.
0 I can slowly explore it
0 and try to restore it,
but words aren’t a patch on guitar.
I was interested in Jean's comment about "Sea Fever" often having been put to music. I can't share her enthusiasm for the Beach version, nor any of the others I found on You Tube, so I'm attempting to set it to a new melody.
Duncan
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