Submariner Memories

I have spent most my life on ships of steel Things of fiction now so real I pray for my brothers who have passed From every nation that laid their wrath Under the water these ships can go Where they go nobody knows They are the oceans ghosts Riding under the waves, Neptune’s host These are mans magnificent machines That patrol the waters so grim, so mean The ones that survive and are here today Pay tribute to those that have gone away I often wondered if I would share their plight And often slept a sleepless night Imagining the thoughts that ran their mind As their ship of steel met the unkind A torpedo’s blow, a depth charge boom Crumpled these hulls sent them to doom Many a year I traveled the seas Hoping this would not be my destiny I pray for the men that put up the fight To keep their ships from dying in the night These brave men gave all for their country Doing the deed, keeping us free I have lived a beautiful life all around Made possible by these men that are down I just want to keep their memory Very much alive for all eternity There is much pride in the submarine force So many men proudly stay the course Following in their brothers steps Hoping they will not be inept I am about to retire and go ashore And live my life forever more Thinking about what these men did for me And hoping that I lived up to their memory If you read this poem please bow and pray For the submarine force and the men that stay They protect you while you are asleep at night And are willing to die in the endless fight Duane A. LaChance - 2012