Shanty

Rub-a-dub-dub,
three whores in a tub
and a fourth on all fours
on a makeshift raft.

These silken harlots
float about inside my chest.
One gave you her sex-
her precious virginity on a sterile platter.
One gave you her trust-
that wounded creature she struggled to free.
One gave you her heart-
that palpitating muscle ripped from her breast.
And the dogged castaway,
the windswept trollope on the raft,
she gave you her life-
that which she knew she would give to no other.

These float about lost
in a watery limbo,
singing shanties to pass the time,
shattered and beaten all four.

These iron harlots
must break free of my ribbed prison.
One must regain her sex-
losing it anew with each successive john.
One must regain her trust-
to send it to the arms of another unworthy.
One must regain her heart-
steal it back from you, who eats hearts.
And the weary castaway,
the naïve trollope on the raft,
must regain her life- 
to piece it back together herself.

Rub-a-dub-dub,
three whores in a tub
and a fourth on all fours 
on a makeshift raft.

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