WINTER COAL
They trotted right up to the foot of the lane,
Cart piled with coal for the light-keeper's shack.
But the cousins said no, no crossing their land
So they turned round the horse and headed on back
For the boat, loaded her up for the Point.
Jam-packed to the gunnels, she rode low in the water.
A stiff wind from the west and over she went -
Over she toppled, tossed them out in dark water.
One of them got fast to the boat,
Held six hours to the side of her,
His fingernails tore off of him;
His brother's luck broke -
She flipped him in first
And the coal down on top of him.
The unabridged audio edition of Merrybegot by Mary Dalton published by Rattling Books in 2005 is performed by Anita Best with Patrick Boyle on trumpet and flugelhorn. For more information or to buy it visit rattlingbooks.com
