Into the Storm -- Part 2

INTO THE STORM (PART 2) (…continuation) On this ocean we are just a wooden speck We have no choice, for the wind has us by the tail Like a dog seizes a rat and shakes it to break neck. All sails are in but we are toyed with by the gale: This struggle may break even, but if we should fail……. Near-devoured in the maw of death around her deck By torrents of shark-toothed scends angered, We drop into our grave every time she is checked: The chasms of darkness hold only blackness, watered And seething under the black clouds of fierce hatred. The decks are steep….stop me reaching the lifeline ahead to the bridge. Miss the line....oh Jesus ….no, not now!……I‘m not ready to go! Slo-mo sister is waiting…..mother…..dad….the unfinished garden hedge Swept into waves……filled nose.…no air….down, blackness…the end….No! No! A hand opens the sea and I grab it, spewing water, and bellow…. Mum is holding my hand and asking me what the bellowing is about. My bed is warm, sheets are rumpled…..bad dream, fingers a-quiver. She asks me about it….I can’t remember….I clutch her hand in doubt. My windows clatter with the wind, she chatters, I believe her - About the storm all night, when I was sick with a high fever.