A Fishe’s Hornpipe.

A Fishe’s Hornpipe.
Wallace Irwin.
343.

As I was wandering alone
Along the wave-washed dunes,
I heard eleven fiddler crabs
A-playing pleasant tunes.
All in a row with each his bow,
As merry as could be,
A fish’s hornpipe they composed
Beside the sounding sea.

And as they squeaked and twanged and tweaked
The waves began to prance,
As all the folk of Ocean came
To join the merry dance.
The northern seal he took the eel
For his cotillon set, And every minnow seized a fin
And danced a minnow-et.

The dolphin and the walrus grand
They made a graceful pair-
But, faith, it was the octopus
Drove others to despair I
For with his charms of many arms
His dancing was sublime,
As right among the rest he swung
Eight mermaids at a time.

A portly whale stood on his tail
And said: “Miss Anchovy,
I do declare, we’re quite a pair 1
Please, won’t you dance with me?”
Whereat a shrimp grew pale and limp
Because a swordfish cruel
Had quarreled about a pretty trout
And wished to fight a duel.

At this the gentle fiddler crabs
Were filled with great dismay,
So each one packed his violin
And bowed and went his way;
The little fishes hurried off
In violent alarm;
But the merry octopus went home
With a mermaid on each arm.