ODE TO PIRATE BART

Pirate Bart had an artificial leg
finely crafted of stainless steel
and when he strode upon the ship's wood deck
his leg made a loud sounding peel.

So when the seas would gently roll
he'd shift his weight and tap, tap, tap.
But in the cold, foul weather of high seas
his leg shook to tip-tap, tip-tap, tip-tap.

One night the rains were bucketing down hard,
the waves were over the boat's sides
and lightning struck Pirate Bart's leg of steel
and pitched him out into the tides.

Bart was caught in Neptune's watery grip
as from this world he bravely rode
while sailors stood at the side of his ship
to hear his taps of Morse code.

   An ode is a poem of praise. I guess this could also be called an elegy which is a poem about death, but the elegy is supposed to have a serious tone and that doesn't fit for this humorous poem.  I'm still playing with this poem. I thought about capturing the thought of the leg rusting but I haven't got it yet.  That may be another poem completely.
   Your poetry challenge for today is to write your own ode--a poem in praise of something or someone.

A good children's poem starts with a good story. 

 Today's Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche.  You can find more poetry by jumping over to her blog.  Thanks, Margaret for hosting us.