Ballad of the Canal

A comic tour de force from 19th-century American poetry, Ballad of the Canal is a gleeful linguistic prank. Phoebe Cary channels the rowdy world of Erie Canal boatmen in this parody of James T. Field's famous 'Ballad of the Tempest,' where the rough talk of working men on the water sounds like something entirely different to polite ears. The poem plays deliciously with double meanings, letting innocent canal terminology tumble into suggestive territory, all delivered with a straight face and perfect comic timing. It's a short, wickedly funny piece that rewards readers who pay attention to what the words might actually mean versus what they sound like. Cary, the younger sister of poet Alice Cary, wrote with a light touch that few of her contemporaries could match.