shake out every sail
round the world and home again
that’s the sailor’s way
Head the ship for England!
Shake out every sail!
Blithe leap the billows,
Merry sings the gale.
Captain, work the reck’ning;
How many knots a day? —
Round the world and home again,
That’s the sailor’s way!
From Homeward Bound by William Allingham as published in The vista of English verse by Henry Spackman Pancoast, (H. Holt and company: New York, 1911).
We happened to be on the beach on Hilton Head during the Hilton Head Multi Hull 50th Anniversary Beach Regatta.
My grandson Jaxon, who knows no fear, ran into the waves and asked for a ride.
One of the sailors boomed and I mean BOOMED out, ‘You Bet!’
Picked him up and plopped on the boat.
Today’s haiku is adapted from the poem, Homeward Bound, and the movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
According to the book, I want it Now, by Julie Dawn Cole, who played Veruca Salt in the movie, it was screen writer, David Seltzer, who came up with the “… clever and charming quotations, often borrowed from Classic Literature, that he wove into Gene’s dialogue. His fluency in this works translated into the final elegance of the final script. S[potting the origins of these quotes has fascinated many Wonka fans.“
According to Wikipedia, He [David Seltzer] was uncredited for his contributions to the screenplay of the 1971 musical film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The author of the original book, Roald Dahl, is credited as the sole screenwriter; however, it has been revealed that Seltzer rewrote 30 percent of Dahl’s script, adding such elements as the “Slugworth subplot”, music other than the original Oompa Loompa compositions (including Pure Imagination and The Candy Man), and the ending dialogue for the film.”
As a shout out to the movie, Mr. Seltzer and those guys on the boat, so shines a good deed in a weary world.
And lest we forget, Mr. Shakespeare and The Merchant of Venice. Where the original line, spoken by Portia, is:
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
If you could have seen the smile on Jaxon’s face … you would know just what Big Bill and Mr. Seltzer were going for.
No Haiku For You 