. . . what an idea, tea with Alice. Consider that an invite, my dearest.
Dedicated to Thomas Pynchon for his classic rocket limericks . . .
There was this belle bulker named Alice
Who enters New York heavy, then leaves in ballast.
As she follows that beaut bulbous bow
I am oercome with desire, and vow
Some day she’ll relish dry dock inside a my palace
A dark ship from the fleet of Oldendorff
Makes regular stops in Brooklyn’s navy yard wharf
Endless sea miles repeated she’ll travel
To discharge tons of crush-ed gravel
Must I-to win her affection-into a tanker morph?
So lay in, comrades. Don’t fail us. Your limerick could built the saga of Alice.
Al photos and silliness by Will Van Dorp.
tugster: a waterblog 
3 comments
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May 22, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Elizabeth Wood
How about an ode to this “other woman” in your life:
Alice, his ship with the bulbous bow,
Oh he’d love to get onto her deck somehow!
If she makes her trip
At her usual clip
She’ll be back in his sight mere hours from now!
May 29, 2007 at 4:24 pm
*mon*
I saw Alice today south of Albany on the Hudson. I just googled her name and came across your page. Great pix!
February 18, 2011 at 11:18 am
Tugster: Blog for 'Sixth Borough,' the Waterfront - NYTimes.com
[…] to the technical parts of the harbor and vice versa.” On a given week, visitors might encounter a poetic ode to a favorite tug named Alice; a photo-identification challenge called “Whatzit?”; and detailed primers on ship […]