After An Exerpt From Goethe Poem by Douglas Scotney

As everyone on board was so alike,

it was decreed that boredom would set in soon

unless they took on roles

and staged an impromptu play

of characters aboard a trading vessel.



An imposing man then came on board

and took on a role as a country vicar.



Whenever someone fell out of role

(and that happened with most)

he or she had to pay a forfeit.



Though Philine offered him redemption

of any forfeit of his for a kiss,

the new guy never lost a thing;

not even a ring.

She had a look in a mirror for something amiss.



She excused his behaviour with,

'He looks like a human being,

not any Tom or Dick or Harry.'



‘Stiff, if you don't know what I mean, '

said Philine.

(She was flabbergasted,

for nothing amiss had she seen.)