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BASICALLY ALONE

On a boat that don't float
with a strong smell of smoke
I was sinking and fast on the sea.
with only one hope
I told my tale to a goat
so hopefully he'd tell you from me.
Now the goat was sat down
and though I spoke really loud,
it's still hard to tell what he heard.
Don't give much away
but I have every faith
that he'll say what I said word for word.
I must make my tale quick

coz this goat could be thick
though it has to be said he seemed clever.
No matter how bright
there's a chance he still might
just completely forget altogether.

So here we are from the start

I was running away
from a jail in Spain
coz they said they'd move me to Brazil.
Whilst on a train,
with an alias name,
I was suddenly taken quite ill.
Though I'm trying to hide,
the pain in my side
was just getting worse by the minute
so I went off to find
a clinic near by
and see if there's anyone in it.
The doctor came in,
touched me on the chin,
and left through the door without talking.
I was leaving myself,
concerned for my health,
when two men in suits were to walk in.
They gave me a case,
said they're being chased,
and would I look after their stuff for a while.
Though I couldn't see
what was in it for me
I said that I would with a smile.

I stood with the pack
but they didn't come back
and I had to continue escaping.
So when the train hit the brake
I decided to take
it with me and walked through the station.
When it was safe
I peeked in the case
to see it was stuffed full of cash.
Though still on the run
I now had the funds
to make good my getaway dash.

I'm sure it's coming clear
why when we meet here,
you're you and I speak through a goat.
It's equally plain,
with the money I'd gained,
I'd go out and purchase a boat.

With all that I need
for a plan to succeed
I cast off, if that's what it's called.
But I put too much trust
in Billygoat Gruff
when I should not have trust him at all.
See, when I picked him up
from a local pet shop
he seemed he'd be at home on the sea.
Though I always fail
when trying to sail
I thought he was going to teach me.

But the goat was so rude
a real attitude
didn't say a word from the start.
When you put all your hope
in one ignorant goat
it's enough to break anyone's heart.
But I put that aside
and focussed my mind;
with a mute goat I needed to think.
But before I got going
the ship started lowering
and I noticed we'd started to sink.

You'd think maybe now,
with the boat going down,
the stubborn old beast would give in.
But the goat hadn't spoken
for the whole time I'd known him
and he won't gonna suddenly begin.
It was up to me now:
I tried to bail out
as water came up through the floor.
It's disheartening how,
when I'd thought it'd go down,
there just seemed to be even more.

Well, I'm no-one's fool.
I knew I was doomed,
just minutes away from my death.
So I turned once again
to my travelling friend
who may still survive all this yet.

If you are hearing this,
that proves there exists
the idea of the totally absurd.
Coz a goat's just a goat
and the last time one spoke
I don't think that anyone heard.

Learn more about this author, Daniel Skoyles.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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