Sun peaks up over the misty Salt Sea,
Wakens the sleepless town around me.
Bones a-shiverin' through the windy bree,
Mornin' in Coast Haven comes to me.
Night before, can I hardly discern,
Sinful lass in a lusty tavern
A mug of ale with a throat to burn
Between girl 'n drink takin' my turn.
Lo, the air be filled with pipe'n weed
The men are filled with lecherous need
And they let the dancin' ladies lead
As the room roils with rum 'n mead.
I, m'self, outside found my respite
In the buzz of the Havener night
And in the flickerin' lantern light
'Twas knife in my side n' thief's delight.
Gone was m' coin, m' pipe, ink 'n quill,
And gone was then he, and left me still
In my drunken haze 'n with the shrill
Laughin' people, we go back to refill.
That sultry lass, a barmaid was she
Clutched my loins n' offer'd the drink free
I lost my sight 'n virginity
And anythin' else in memory.
They say that the mornin' aftertaste
Reveals the poison the drink was laced
Nay, nothin' to steal while in her haste
The connivin' wench 'n falsely chaste.
Now mornin' smells of bacon 'n bree
And empty bed, naught else for poor me.
Rouse m'self to the window I see,
Mornin' in Coast Haven beckons to me.
Jason Behnke
2004
Mornin' in Coast Haven
