Typhoon Entombed Them

Death met at work, a months' long livestock voyage Appalling fate found forty men in ocean's contempt Churned in days' worth of typhoon crazed torment Upside down violence turned trapped crew to carnage Water walled onslaught slammed seafaring stronghold Cattle float stark on dark ocean, hooves raised, bloated Vets embarked the journey, to bovine well-being devoted Vessel of mass measures, by sea vehemence controlled Taken from life during a shift, loyal young strong sailors Skilled handlers, pined for infant families, scared at home Mammoth stern dug beneath unending depth, groaned Instruments steady didn't warn of ceilings spray showers Tenacity kept crew clutching straws in relentless storm Hull refused her duty, rising cold belly swamped within Dutiful men tended soiled stock, their outlook grim Windows disguised skywards, horizon stolen in scorn Deck gave only feasible exit point, though death due either way Going under or leaping off, bodies driven on stiff vein adrenalin Forty faithful crew, prisoners in their workplace, remember them Ninety children learn that dire time leaves their lives in disarray 7th September 2020