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The Island

The shipwrecked man
Stood on the beach
Watching the waves roll in

His ship was gone
He was alone
There was no one to guide him

He searched the island
From east to west, north to south
Looking for another person

But utterly alone
He soon realized
That this island would be his home

So he started to work
He formed a plan
To solve some basic needs

He gathered some food
And set it aside
Against an hour of want

The food was not the gourmet style
They eat in Tokyo or France
But it would get him through

The sun was hot
And the rains often soaked him
So he decided to make a shelter

He gathered long straight poles
Lashing them together
And formed a crude hut

Soon he noticed that ants would come
And crawl on him while he slept
So he devised a way to elevate his floor

Using only what the island could provide
He worked on this shelter
Slowly, patiently he worked

After several years
A ship appeared
And the sailors marveled at the man

How could he have survived so long
By himself
With no help?

The man was pleased he'd taken the steps
That would prolong his life
And he showed the sailors his hut

They laughed him to scorn
At the crude details
Which the man had toiled at so long

While admitting it was comfortable
And kept out rain and sun
It was no Louvre or Taj Mahal

But said the man
Rising to his own defense
I had no tools with which to work

So I just did the best I could


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