Until Morning
That villain Hook! Could I have guessed
That he would leave like all the rest?
Like Smee and Tootles, Nibs and Slightly,
One by one eloping nightly,
Back to parents, back to troubles,
Back to bath-times, soap, and bubbles,
Back to courting, girls! and grieving,
Back to growing-up; and leaving.
Tink and Wendy, Michael too,
But Captain Jas? Of all men? You?
I’ve paced the island, round and round,
And climbed the mountains, watched the ground
That Tiger Lily, braves and all,
Would walk to reach the waterfall;
I’ve searched your ship, and read your log,
And looked in every hollow bog,
And in the silence, all the while,
I listened for your crocodile.
The winds and waves have ceased to breathe,
The fireflies, the bugs beneath
The rock that I am perched upon,
The very breezing mists are gone,
And all that to my eyes is shown
Is sand, and dirt, and heedless bone,
And pirate ships that float away
Across the calm and spectral bay.
I know your tricks, though grant it true,
One thing at least; this one is new;
And just to give you half a chance
I’ll wait where fairies used to dance,
And every night until you come
I’ll beat a Piccanniny drum,
And sing and holler to the sea
That Captain Hook’s afraid of me!