Day 344: Tin Box Boat

Tin Box Boat
by
Matt Zurbo

(A wombat casually eating grass, eyes looking up at an Emu.)

Wombat and emu set sail
in a tin box boat,
(Wombat and Emu in small tin boat with sail, leaving shoreline, left to right.)

simply happy that tin
could be shaped to float!
(Both of them sailing on flat ocean, past buoy with gulls on it.)

At first the ocean was flat.
(Boat at sea, flying fish flying over them.)

Then there was rain.
(Emu looking miserable, Wombat in hooded raincoat, bailing water from boat.)

Storms!
(Both them and boat small under mighty, rising storm.)

Sharks!
(Fins in water, everywhere. Emu looking nervously at them. Wombat unmoved.)

Big waves…
(Boat rising 45°)

Rainbows and their magnificent arcs.
(Boat in flat sea, approaching mighty, colour-rich rainbow end.)

Mermaids said hello,
(Mermaid and merman leaping from water, in arc over boat.)

other mythology, too.
(Boat sailing through numerous long-necked sea dragons.)

Wombat showed them all,
how he does square poo.
(Dragons, mermaid, merman, salty fisherman, squid, etc, all leaning in, watching wombat pooing square poos over boat edge – only animal in the world that does square poos. True!)

Pirates had their say,
(Pirate boat passing, causing tin boat to rock, pirates abusing wombat and emu.)

as did the press, too.
(Small raft, full of a crush of people with microphones, booms, lighting, etc…)

“Are you lost out here?”
(Pirate leaning into frame, to shout at emu.)

“Why not try a zoo?”
(A reporter is leaning in to shout at wombat, that is simply drinking from coconut with straw.)

What a bizarre idea,
thought Emu.
(Emu and wombat sailing over ocean, surface looks plain and flat, but we can see whales, fish, deep sea diver, amazing things, under them.)

Tanker ships passed,
(Tin boat/wombat and emu, being bowled into the air by bow of huge shipping container.)

the night soon descended,
(Dark. Tin boat floating over numerous, ugly, glowing deep sea creatures.)

This must be like flying,
Emu fondly lamented.
(Water still, reflecting mighty Milky Way above them. If not for waterline, they would look like they were drifting through space.)

Still the challenges came,
(Tin boat in air, as it is on top of submarine – yellow – periscope. Two giant crabs, with one mighty claw each, appearing out of water. Emu, scared, wrapped around mask. Wombat blowing soap bubbles.)

one,
(Cloud, with face blowing hard wind. Wombat and Emu just hanging onto battered boat.)

after one,
(Sun, with face, baking them. Emu under small, frilly umbrella, wombat towel on head, panting.)

But Emu loved Wombat,
(Tin boat moored at tiny rock island, with grass and Easter Island statue. Emu sitting, staring to sea. Wombat eating grass.)

and Wombat loved to have fun.
(Tin boat/emu and wombat drifting away from us on flat sea.)

 

The End