a seaman's life

A seaman's life Looking at the map, I have been to most countries  that have seaports but no time to explore work  had to be done whether it was Monday or Sunday I have crossed many seas. The Pacific Ocean had  long, deep waves, the Atlantic Ocean had sharper waves while the Mediterranean Sea could not make up its mind  The Black Sea wasn't blue and looked darksome; the ship was stuck on ice flakes The country we seamen preferred was the USA we could get our shopping done and buy stuff for friends at home, shops stayed open longer A Russian town had a beautiful avenue, but otherwise a city shrouded in darkness I lost my heart to Guatemala, beautiful beaches near the docks, a nation of friendly folks Haiti, Port-au- Prince where Papa Doc ruled with his brutal men dressed in flowery shirts, sunglasses eager to shoot at anything that moved a place where portholes had to be closed for the stink What I remember best was in Nagasaki one afternoon I had two hours off work and noticed how few people I met it was as if they were still in shell shock  In a courtyard, I came across the graves of Portuguese seamen who had died of the pest 200 years ago  far from home, died of an illness, I grieved for them  The evenings in foreign ports were the same bars and women of ill repute ready for a small amount of money serviced the ritual of sex, so one could be drunk go back onboard for a few hours of sleep