Poem: "No Matter How Morally Unworthy"
Dec. 23rd, 2025 11:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem came out of the February 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from mama_kestrel and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Violent Behavior" square in my 2-1-25 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Peculiar Obligations.
"No Matter How Morally Unworthy"
[Monday, May 4, 1752]
Peregrine Wilde had swiftly
grown fond of the pirate boys
and town girls who frequented
his shop, Treasures of the Seas.
They often had more free time
than adults to forage for shells
and stones, skulls and shed skins,
which they brought for him to buy.
They were also shorter and closer
to the ground, lighter and better
at climbing the tall trees in search
of flowers, butterflies, and so on.
His wife Susannah always had
a smile and a sweet biscuit or
some other treat for them.
Over the weekend, a storm
had blown over the island with
high winds and pounding rain.
Of course that meant that all of
the little scavengers had rushed
to the beach at the first light of day
to see what the waves had flung up.
So far they had brought in a basket
full of lost fishing floats made of
glass and cork, several boxes
of seashells, a couple of fossils,
and part of a whale jawbone
with huge teeth still attached.
A nest of three baby macaws,
probably the gold-crowned kind,
had toppled out of their tree.
These Peregrine redirected
to a retired pirate who tamed
birds, monkeys, and other pets.
The children and teens swarmed
laughing through the shop, often
buying things with the coins
that they had just earned.
Suddenly four men
burst through the door
and set upon them.
"Slavers! Slavers!"
someone screamed.
That was a threat which
everyone in the Caribbean
knew to watch out for, since
they prowled the seas in search
of humans to turn into livestock.
Peregrine was a good Friend who
could not abide violent behavior
and never carried a weapon.
Instead he dropped to the floor,
grabbed the woven sisal rug, and
yanked it from under their feet.
Two of the slavers fell down.
The boys attacked one of
the men with their knives,
while the girls stomped on
the other with heavy boots
built to withstand corals.
A third lunged forward,
only to tangle in the claws
of the long-legged crocodile
whose dried body hung
from the shop's ceiling.
He went down hard,
dragging the crocodile
with him, screaming as
its jaws found his head.
Enraged, the last slaver
aimed a pistol at Peregrine.
Then he froze, shocked,
as the point of a saber
emerged from his chest.
Belisarius del Sol kicked
the corpse off his sword
and then went to deal with
the three remaining slavers.
He clubbed them unconscious
with the butt end of his sword.
"Apologies for all the mess,
Friend Peregrine, but I heard
the ruckus and thought I had
best handle it, as you're not
a fighting man," said Belisarius.
"While I detest violence, I do
thank thee for the timely rescue,"
Peregrine said faintly. "Else they
worked evil upon our children."
"Quite," said Belisarius. "All right,
lads, bind the living and take them to
the Town Watch to work off their debt
to the people of Port Royal. One of
you run for the undertaker as well,
to clean up Peregrine's shop."
The shopkeeper looked at
the spreading pool of blood
and swallowed hard. Yes,
help dealing with all that
would be most welcome.
The children, however,
set to work long before
the undertaker could come.
Some fetched baskets of
sand and buckets of water.
Others brought rags and
brushes for scrubbing.
While the children began
swabbing the wooden floor,
the teens picked up fallen goods --
starting with the hoofed crocodile,
which was surprisingly intact --
and put things back in place.
Some of the shells and
glass fishing floats had
broken in the fight.
"There's a sad loss,"
Peregrine mourned.
"Ah well, give 'em back
to the sea," said one girl.
"She'll polish 'em up nice."
It was true that sea-glass
was incredibly beautiful.
"Take them up with a broom
then, so as not to cut thyself,"
Peregrine said as he offered
a whisk broom and a pan.
The undertaker carted away
the body of the dead slaver,
and the children went to work
on the floor where he'd fallen.
The bill for his services would be
charged to the survivors as part
of the labor owed to the town.
Fortunately most of the mess
had been cleared away by
the time Susannah returned
from her shopping trip with
the baby asleep in a sling.
"What in the world has
happened in here?"
she said, staring at
Belisarius who was
cleaning his saber.
"Just a bit of a fuss,
all taken care of now,
Friend," said Belisarius,
tipping his gaudy hat.
"And we're all grateful
for that," Peregrine said.
Belisarius ducked out the door,
taking with him the teens and
older children who had finished
the work they were doing.
That left a few young ones
who were swabbing over
the red smudges with a pot
of dark floor stain made
from some tropical plant.
"That man concerns me,"
Susannah said, looking out
the door where Belisarius had
disappeared. "He is a pirate."
"And a good man," said Peregrine,
"for he has done what I could not
to keep these children safe."
"Is thee sure that he is good?"
said Susannah. "He is a pirate,
and Peregrine, I worry for thee."
"The good man is the man who,
no matter how morally unworthy he
has been, is moving to become better,"
Peregrine replied. "After all, that is
why we serve among pirates in
the first place: to inspire them.
I would say that it is working."
Susannah looked down at
the children who were tending
the floor without being asked.
"I suppose it is," she agreed.
"I'll put the baby in the cradle,
and fetch some sweet biscuits."
* * *
Notes:
Belisarius del Sol -- a pirate man, particularly protective of the cabin boys and other young pirates. He is a formidable fighter. He is friends with Peregrine Wilde, owner of the shop Treasures of the Seas in Port Liberty. Belisarius is tall with tan skin, black eyes, and curly black hair showing his mixed heritage.
Peregrine Wilde -- a Quaker man, he spent his youth traveling around the Americas with his missionary parents. As a young man, he took ship with pirates to explore the Spanish Main, Caribbean Islands, and up navigable rivers into North America. He collects books on the natural sciences along with natural curiosities. When his wife Susannah got pregnant, she told Peregrine to quit his
wandering and settle down. So in 1751, he bought a shop in Port Liberty, Jamaica and named it Treasures of the Seas. His pirate friends brought him natural items from all around the Caribbean to display or sell.
[Introduced in "Reading the Sea.]
Susannah Wilde -- a Quaker woman, she married Peregrine Wilde, who liked to explore around the Caribbean Sea with his pirate friends. When she got pregnant, she told her husband to quit his wandering and settle down. So in 1751, Peregrine bought a shop in Port Liberty, Jamaica and named it Treasures of the Seas. His pirate friends brought him natural items from all around the Caribbean to display or sell.
[Introduced in "Reading the Sea.]
"The good man is the man who, no matter how morally unworthy he has been, is moving to become better."
-- John Dewey
Glass fishing floats date back at least to the mid-1700s but possibly earlier. Cork and other light wooden floats are much older. These often broke away from nets or poles and washed up on beaches.
Category:Extinct animals of Jamaica
The Jamaican gold-crowned macaw is related to the Cuban ruddy macaw, but has brighter colors and considerably more gold on the head.
The Jamaican red macaw (Ara gossei) is a hypothetical species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that lived on Jamaica.
The only reported specimen was shot on Jamaica around 1765, and was later seen by a Dr. Robertson when it was stuffed; the specimen has since been lost. Robertson sent a description of it to Philip Henry Gosse, who published his own description in 1847:
Basal half of upper mandible black; apical half, ash coloured; lower mandible, black, tip only ash coloured; forehead, crown, and back of neck, bright yellow; sides of face, around eyes, anterior and lateral parts of the neck, and back, a fine scarlet; wing coverts and breast deep sanguine red; winglet and primaries an elegant light blue. The legs and feet are said to have been black; the tail, red and yellow intermixed (Rob.)
Robertson stated the bird had never been seen or figured before, and that it was very different from any macaw he had ever seen. One 1765 illustration is thought to depict this bird, but has also been suggested to be an imported Cuban macaw. The parrot was considered identical to the Cuban macaw by some 19th-century naturalists, but was given its own binomial by Rothschild in 1905.
The Jamaican monkey (Xenothrix mcgregori) is an extinct species of New World monkey that was endemic to Jamaica. It was first uncovered at Long Mile Cave by Harold Anthony in 1920.
Sisal is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fibre is traditionally used for rope and twine, and has many other uses, including paper, cloth, footwear, hats, bags, carpets, geotextiles, and dartboards. It is also used as fibre reinforcements for composite fibreglass, rubber, and concrete products. It can also be fermented and distilled to make mezcal.
Of course, sisal as a plant and as a useful material did not start in the 19th century. Prior to Spanish conquest, sisal was known by the Mayan name Yaxci, and the Mayans and Aztecs both used it to make ropes. Sisal ropes are still among the strongest made today.
A few centuries after the Spanish invaded what is now Mexico, sisal became more and more popular as a material to make things other than ropes and twine. Its fibers eventually found their way into other products, such as paper, hats, and, yes, even rugs. Before long, sisal products were being exported from Mexico, and a few decades later, sisal plants themselves were being exported.
The sweet biscuits described here resemble a Cornish treat variously called shortcake biscuits, tea biscuits, hevva cakes, cookies, and so on. They're sort of between a dinner biscuit and a cookie, but cooked in a skillet like a pancake. Currant is a traditional flavor in Cornwall; in the Caribbean they would logically be flavored with sugarcane and/or tropical fruit.
mama_kestrel and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Violent Behavior" square in my 2-1-25 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Peculiar Obligations."No Matter How Morally Unworthy"
[Monday, May 4, 1752]
Peregrine Wilde had swiftly
grown fond of the pirate boys
and town girls who frequented
his shop, Treasures of the Seas.
They often had more free time
than adults to forage for shells
and stones, skulls and shed skins,
which they brought for him to buy.
They were also shorter and closer
to the ground, lighter and better
at climbing the tall trees in search
of flowers, butterflies, and so on.
His wife Susannah always had
a smile and a sweet biscuit or
some other treat for them.
Over the weekend, a storm
had blown over the island with
high winds and pounding rain.
Of course that meant that all of
the little scavengers had rushed
to the beach at the first light of day
to see what the waves had flung up.
So far they had brought in a basket
full of lost fishing floats made of
glass and cork, several boxes
of seashells, a couple of fossils,
and part of a whale jawbone
with huge teeth still attached.
A nest of three baby macaws,
probably the gold-crowned kind,
had toppled out of their tree.
These Peregrine redirected
to a retired pirate who tamed
birds, monkeys, and other pets.
The children and teens swarmed
laughing through the shop, often
buying things with the coins
that they had just earned.
Suddenly four men
burst through the door
and set upon them.
"Slavers! Slavers!"
someone screamed.
That was a threat which
everyone in the Caribbean
knew to watch out for, since
they prowled the seas in search
of humans to turn into livestock.
Peregrine was a good Friend who
could not abide violent behavior
and never carried a weapon.
Instead he dropped to the floor,
grabbed the woven sisal rug, and
yanked it from under their feet.
Two of the slavers fell down.
The boys attacked one of
the men with their knives,
while the girls stomped on
the other with heavy boots
built to withstand corals.
A third lunged forward,
only to tangle in the claws
of the long-legged crocodile
whose dried body hung
from the shop's ceiling.
He went down hard,
dragging the crocodile
with him, screaming as
its jaws found his head.
Enraged, the last slaver
aimed a pistol at Peregrine.
Then he froze, shocked,
as the point of a saber
emerged from his chest.
Belisarius del Sol kicked
the corpse off his sword
and then went to deal with
the three remaining slavers.
He clubbed them unconscious
with the butt end of his sword.
"Apologies for all the mess,
Friend Peregrine, but I heard
the ruckus and thought I had
best handle it, as you're not
a fighting man," said Belisarius.
"While I detest violence, I do
thank thee for the timely rescue,"
Peregrine said faintly. "Else they
worked evil upon our children."
"Quite," said Belisarius. "All right,
lads, bind the living and take them to
the Town Watch to work off their debt
to the people of Port Royal. One of
you run for the undertaker as well,
to clean up Peregrine's shop."
The shopkeeper looked at
the spreading pool of blood
and swallowed hard. Yes,
help dealing with all that
would be most welcome.
The children, however,
set to work long before
the undertaker could come.
Some fetched baskets of
sand and buckets of water.
Others brought rags and
brushes for scrubbing.
While the children began
swabbing the wooden floor,
the teens picked up fallen goods --
starting with the hoofed crocodile,
which was surprisingly intact --
and put things back in place.
Some of the shells and
glass fishing floats had
broken in the fight.
"There's a sad loss,"
Peregrine mourned.
"Ah well, give 'em back
to the sea," said one girl.
"She'll polish 'em up nice."
It was true that sea-glass
was incredibly beautiful.
"Take them up with a broom
then, so as not to cut thyself,"
Peregrine said as he offered
a whisk broom and a pan.
The undertaker carted away
the body of the dead slaver,
and the children went to work
on the floor where he'd fallen.
The bill for his services would be
charged to the survivors as part
of the labor owed to the town.
Fortunately most of the mess
had been cleared away by
the time Susannah returned
from her shopping trip with
the baby asleep in a sling.
"What in the world has
happened in here?"
she said, staring at
Belisarius who was
cleaning his saber.
"Just a bit of a fuss,
all taken care of now,
Friend," said Belisarius,
tipping his gaudy hat.
"And we're all grateful
for that," Peregrine said.
Belisarius ducked out the door,
taking with him the teens and
older children who had finished
the work they were doing.
That left a few young ones
who were swabbing over
the red smudges with a pot
of dark floor stain made
from some tropical plant.
"That man concerns me,"
Susannah said, looking out
the door where Belisarius had
disappeared. "He is a pirate."
"And a good man," said Peregrine,
"for he has done what I could not
to keep these children safe."
"Is thee sure that he is good?"
said Susannah. "He is a pirate,
and Peregrine, I worry for thee."
"The good man is the man who,
no matter how morally unworthy he
has been, is moving to become better,"
Peregrine replied. "After all, that is
why we serve among pirates in
the first place: to inspire them.
I would say that it is working."
Susannah looked down at
the children who were tending
the floor without being asked.
"I suppose it is," she agreed.
"I'll put the baby in the cradle,
and fetch some sweet biscuits."
* * *
Notes:
Belisarius del Sol -- a pirate man, particularly protective of the cabin boys and other young pirates. He is a formidable fighter. He is friends with Peregrine Wilde, owner of the shop Treasures of the Seas in Port Liberty. Belisarius is tall with tan skin, black eyes, and curly black hair showing his mixed heritage.
Peregrine Wilde -- a Quaker man, he spent his youth traveling around the Americas with his missionary parents. As a young man, he took ship with pirates to explore the Spanish Main, Caribbean Islands, and up navigable rivers into North America. He collects books on the natural sciences along with natural curiosities. When his wife Susannah got pregnant, she told Peregrine to quit his
wandering and settle down. So in 1751, he bought a shop in Port Liberty, Jamaica and named it Treasures of the Seas. His pirate friends brought him natural items from all around the Caribbean to display or sell.
[Introduced in "Reading the Sea.]
Susannah Wilde -- a Quaker woman, she married Peregrine Wilde, who liked to explore around the Caribbean Sea with his pirate friends. When she got pregnant, she told her husband to quit his wandering and settle down. So in 1751, Peregrine bought a shop in Port Liberty, Jamaica and named it Treasures of the Seas. His pirate friends brought him natural items from all around the Caribbean to display or sell.
[Introduced in "Reading the Sea.]
"The good man is the man who, no matter how morally unworthy he has been, is moving to become better."
-- John Dewey
Glass fishing floats date back at least to the mid-1700s but possibly earlier. Cork and other light wooden floats are much older. These often broke away from nets or poles and washed up on beaches.
Category:Extinct animals of Jamaica
The Jamaican gold-crowned macaw is related to the Cuban ruddy macaw, but has brighter colors and considerably more gold on the head.
The Jamaican red macaw (Ara gossei) is a hypothetical species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that lived on Jamaica.
The only reported specimen was shot on Jamaica around 1765, and was later seen by a Dr. Robertson when it was stuffed; the specimen has since been lost. Robertson sent a description of it to Philip Henry Gosse, who published his own description in 1847:
Basal half of upper mandible black; apical half, ash coloured; lower mandible, black, tip only ash coloured; forehead, crown, and back of neck, bright yellow; sides of face, around eyes, anterior and lateral parts of the neck, and back, a fine scarlet; wing coverts and breast deep sanguine red; winglet and primaries an elegant light blue. The legs and feet are said to have been black; the tail, red and yellow intermixed (Rob.)
Robertson stated the bird had never been seen or figured before, and that it was very different from any macaw he had ever seen. One 1765 illustration is thought to depict this bird, but has also been suggested to be an imported Cuban macaw. The parrot was considered identical to the Cuban macaw by some 19th-century naturalists, but was given its own binomial by Rothschild in 1905.
The Jamaican monkey (Xenothrix mcgregori) is an extinct species of New World monkey that was endemic to Jamaica. It was first uncovered at Long Mile Cave by Harold Anthony in 1920.
Sisal is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fibre is traditionally used for rope and twine, and has many other uses, including paper, cloth, footwear, hats, bags, carpets, geotextiles, and dartboards. It is also used as fibre reinforcements for composite fibreglass, rubber, and concrete products. It can also be fermented and distilled to make mezcal.
Of course, sisal as a plant and as a useful material did not start in the 19th century. Prior to Spanish conquest, sisal was known by the Mayan name Yaxci, and the Mayans and Aztecs both used it to make ropes. Sisal ropes are still among the strongest made today.
A few centuries after the Spanish invaded what is now Mexico, sisal became more and more popular as a material to make things other than ropes and twine. Its fibers eventually found their way into other products, such as paper, hats, and, yes, even rugs. Before long, sisal products were being exported from Mexico, and a few decades later, sisal plants themselves were being exported.
The sweet biscuits described here resemble a Cornish treat variously called shortcake biscuits, tea biscuits, hevva cakes, cookies, and so on. They're sort of between a dinner biscuit and a cookie, but cooked in a skillet like a pancake. Currant is a traditional flavor in Cornwall; in the Caribbean they would logically be flavored with sugarcane and/or tropical fruit.
