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The Galley-Slave

Oh gallant was our galley from her caren steering-wheel
To her figurehead of silver and her beak of hammered steel;
The leg-bar chafed the ankle and we gasped for cooler air,
But no galley on the waters with our galley could compare!

Our bulkheads bulged with cotton and our masts were stepped in gold --
We ran a mighty merchandise of niggers in the hold;
The white foam spun behind us, and the black shark swam below,
As we gripped the kicking sweep-head and we made the galley go.

It was merry in the galley, for we revelled now and then --
If they wore us down like cattle, faith, we fought and loved like men!
As we snatched her through the water, so we snatched a minute's bliss,
And the mutter of the dying never spoiled the lover's kiss.

Our women and our children toiled beside us in the dark --
They died, we filed their fetters, and we heaved them to the shark --
We heaved them to the fishes, but so fast the galley sped
We had only time to envy, for we could not mourn our dead.

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poem by Rudyard Kipling
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Eyes In The Shadows, In Blood, In Space

Eyes in the shadows, in blood, in space, incubating the light
that has yet to be born, wild asters in the deflowered fields of death,
and the return of the living out of the eyeless abyss, delinquent,
and a redness in the air of this September night,
saturating it like a deep wound it holds under its breath,
a black rose, a fossilized thorn that no longer grows old,
memories fixed like crucified bats to the sticky brown stars
of the fanatical burdock trying to wear me like a starmap
as if every day of my life has felt like the approach of autumn
watching the constellations turn like the pages of a calendar,
a waterclock of new moons flowing like dark matter,
sundials at midnight encircling me like shark fins
slashing the water like sabres with surgical precision
and their eyes, oblivion, a focus of shadows, perennial night
after a supernova of dismemberment, dehumanizing horrors
in a hydrodynamic abattoir. Spirits of old root fires
smelling of pine and cedar at large in the dark like hunting magic.

And the clouds a wolf pack of shapeshifters among the stars,
the exhilaration of spiritual wariness out in the woods alone at night

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poem by Patrick White
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The Slave Ships

'ALL ready?' cried the captain;
'Ay, ay!' the seamen said;
'Heave up the worthless lubbers, —
The dying and the dead.'
Up from the slave-ship's prison
Fierce, bearded heads were thrust
'Now let the sharks look to it,—
Toss up the dead ones first!'
Corpse after corpse came.up, —
Death had been busy there;
Where every blow is mercy,
Why should the spoiler spare?
Corpse after corpse they cast
Sullenly from the ship,
Yet bloody with the traces
Of fetter-link and whip.
Gloomily stood the captain,
With his arms upon his breast,
With his cold brow sternly knotted,
And his iron lip compressed.

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poem by John Greenleaf Whittier
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The Dog Guard: An Australian Story

There are lonesome places upon the earth
That have never re-echoed a sound of mirth,
Where the spirits abide that feast and quaff
On the shuddering soul of a murdered laugh,
And take grim delight in the fearful start,
As their unseen fingers clutch the heart,
And the blood flies out from the griping pain,
To carry the chill through every vein;
And the staring eyes and the whitened faces
Are a joy to these ghosts of the lonesome places.

But of all the spots on this earthly sphere
Where these dismal spirits are strong and near,
There is one more dreary than all the rest,—
'Tis the barren island of Rottenest.
On Australia's western coast, you may—
On a seaman's chart of Fremantle Bay—
Find a tiny speck, some ten miles from shore:
If the chart be good, there is something more,—
For a shoal runs in on the landward side,

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poem by John Boyle O'Reilly
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The shark who has eaten cannot swim with the shark that is hungry.

Zambian proverbs
Added by Lucian Velea
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Mack The Knife

(k. weill/b. brecht/m. blitzestien)
Oh the shark has pretty teeth, dear
And he shows them pearly white
Just a jack knife has macheath, dear
And he keeps it out of sight
When the shark bites with his teeth, dear
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves though wears macheath, dear
So theres not a trace of red
On the sidewalk, sunday morning
Lies a body oozing life
Someones sneaking round the corner
Ill bet that someone, someones mack the knife
From a tug boat by the river
A cement bags dropping down
The cements just, just for the weight, dear
Bet you, Ill bet you mack is back in town
Louie miller, he disappeared, dear
After drawing out his cash
And macheath spends like a sailor

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song performed by Lisa Stansfield
Added by Lucian Velea
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Mack The Knife

Oh, the shark, has, pretty teeth, dear....and he shows them, pearly white
Just a jackknife, has macheath, yeah.....and he keeps it, out of sight
When the shark bites, with his teeth, dear....scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves, though, wears macheath, yeah..so theres not a trace, hmmmm of red
On the sidewalk...sunday morning, ...lies a body oozin life
Someones sneakin round the corner...is the someone, mack the knife?
From a tugboat.... by the river..... a cement bags, droopin down
Yeah, the cements just for the weight, dear...bet you mack, hes back in town
Looky here louie miller, disappeared dear...after drawing, out his cash
And macheath spends, like a sailor...did our boy do, somethin rash?
Sukey tawdry, jenny diver..lotte lenya, sweet lucy brown
Oh, the line forms on the right, dears.....now that mackys back in town
Take it satch
(instrumental)

song performed by Louis Armstrong
Added by Lucian Velea
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Mack The Knife

Oh the shark, babe has such teeth, dear
And he shows them pearly white
Just a jack knife has macheath, babe
And he keeps it out of sight
You know when the shark bites with his teeth, babe
Scarlet billows start to spread
Fancy gloves though wears macheath, babe
So there's never, never a trace of red
On the sidewalk, oh sunday morning uh huh
Lies a body just oozing life
Someone's sneaking round the corner
Could that someone be mack the knife?
From a tug boat down by the river don't you know
With cement bag just droopin' on down
Oh that cement is just, it's there for the weight, dear
Five'll get you ten old Mackie's back in town
Now did ya hear about Louie miller, he disappeared, dear
After drawing out all his hard-earned cash
And now macheath spends just like a sailor
Could it be our boy's done something rash?

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song performed by Westlife
Added by Lucian Velea
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Take Me Tip

You think youre gonna please her so you walk right up and tease her
But she walks right on by
Youre scared to walk beside her cause youre playing with the spider who possess the sky
She got the green backs, my oh my
You gotta act tall, think big, if you wanna make a mark in her book
Gotta get ahead, get a car, fancy clothes or shell throw you right off her hook
Heres the news you are but one fish in her back garden scene
Gonna make like a shark to be free
Something bad on your mind
Take my tip get on out
Take my tip get on out
You cant give all you got to take something back
Before shell put you right up on her rack
With some others in mind
Take my tip get on out
Take my tip get on out
You think youre gonna please her so you walk right up and tease her
But she walks right on by
Youre scared to walk beside her cause youre playing with the tiger who possess the sky
She got the green backs, my oh my

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song performed by David Bowie
Added by Lucian Velea
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Take My Tip

You think you're gonna please her
So you walk right up and tease her
But she walks right on by
You're scared to walk beside her
'Cause you're playing with the spider who possess the sky
She got the green backs, my-oh-my
You gotta act tall, think big, if you wanna make a mark in her book
Gotta get ahead, get a car, fancy clothes
Or she'll throw you right off her hook
Here's the news- you are but one fish in her back garden scene
Gonna make like a shark to be free
Something bad on your mind
Take my tip- get on out
Take my tip- get on out
You can't give all you got to take something back
Before she'll put you right up on her rack
With some others in mind
Take my tip- get on out
Take my tip- get on out
You think you're gonna please her

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song performed by David Bowie
Added by Lucian Velea
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