Robert Barnabas Brough
I’m a Shrimp
(‘I’m Afloat, I’m Afloat’)
I’m a shrimp! I’m a shrimp, of diminutive size:
Inspect my antennæ, and look at my eyes;
I’m a natural syphon, when dipped in a cup,
For I drain the contents to the latest drop up.
I care not for craw-fish, I heed not the prawn,
From a flavour especial my fame has been drawn;
Nor e’en to the crab or the lobster do yield,
When I’m properly cook’d and efficiently peeled.
Quick! quick! pile the coals—let your saucepan be deep,
For the weather is warm, and I’m sure not to keep;
Off, off with my head—split my shell into three—
I’m a shrimp! I’m a shrimp—to be eaten with tea.