Wrecks

WRECKS Battered funnel, broken hawsers, holes in deck, Grounded on concrete platform like an old man sitting on bench, Portholes all broken, shaft and screw missing : a wreck , Her story told by old charts, scattered, water-drenched. Battered hat, torn trousers, holes in shoes, Old man on a bench, like a ship in dry dock, rust splattered, Eyeglasses cracked. Some say he has a screw loose : Tell you stories about the old days when he mattered. With cargoes varied, they traveled the world, Saw exotic island sunsets in Straits of Malacca, Braved storms in the Bering Sea - ice cold, And endured war sagas at the siege of Malta.