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Collected Poems

Coal Comfort

Coal Comfort

The collier 'Wingatui', which left Wellington for Westport to get coal for Wellington, arrived back in without the cargo of coal but having circumnavigated the North Island.

We're sailing off to Westport
rend="indent"To fetch a load of coal;
We won't be home to breakfast;
The wind is from the Pole.

page 164

We're sailing off to Westport
By Bristol and Hong Kong;
We'll have our lunch in Greenland;
We hope we won't be long.

We're going to stop at 'Frisco
To have a bite of tea,
Then spend the night exploring
The dark Sargasso Sea.

We're off to scoop and shovel
To fetch the folk some coal;
We'll touch the coast of Iceland,
But Westport is our goal.

We're sailing off to Westport
By way of Kingdom Come;
We won't be home till Christmas—
So keep some dinner, Mum!