unlucky man

Unlucky Man

Alfred,
the ship cook,
who had
survived
the war and
torpedoes,
fell overboard
a velvety
Caribbean
night;

swam till
dawn and
saw
a tiny island,
heard
calypso music;
crawled ashore,
alas
as he did so,
was hit
by a frozen
lump
of shit
released from
a plane;

his family,
was
told
the truth,
but
preferred
to say that
he was
lost at sea.