(Another in my little bunch of poems about the Tudors my daughter asked me to do as a project for her class at school)

 

King Philip of Spain

Should have taken the train

Then he’d have been contented;

But no!  Said he,

“We’ll sail the sea;

And anyway, trains aren’t invented”

 

But waves were tossing

His ships on that crossing

It found that it was harder

To sail against

The winds and rains

That day with his Spanish Armada.

 

When England saw

These ships of war

They said to Captain Drake,

“Well aren’t you thinking

It’s time for sinking?

Come on, for goodness sake!”

 

But Francis Drake

He turned and spake

“We’ll riddle them with holes.

They’re moored in France

So give me chance

To win my game of bowls.”

 

With self-control

Drake took his bowl

And cleaned it with his flannel;

He played that set

And won his bet

Then set sail for the Channel.

 

In Calais’ port

He said “We ought

To give their ships a fright”

His ships of fire

Set their entire

Spanish fleet alight.

 

Well, not quite all

Faced this fire-wall

But no doubt 3 or 4;

The rest escaped

And then reshaped

To offer fight once more.

 

“That’s their mistake”

Says Captain Drake,

“The forecast’s for a squawl;

So give them hell

And let’s repel

Them with our cannonballs”.

 

But to a man

The Spanish ran

For home and to inform

The King of Spain

“We failed again” –

But then they hit the storm.

 

Their ships were tossed

Most lives were lost –

It was not as Phil planned;

But Bess was pleased;

Drake kept the seas

Safe for Eng-er-land.