Listen, my shipmates and you shall hear
A tale of adventure and a sea career.
I shall never forget that cold clear day
When I left the shore of ‘Gansett Bay.
The sight of my ship was one of joy
As she lay tethered to a mooring buoy
And on her bows her numbers clear
Ever more grand as our boat drew near.
I had barely stowed my gear away
When the boatswain’s pipe began to play.
‘Now go to your stations, the sea detail.’
My ship and I were about to sail.
And so began my maiden trip
In my new home, this long gray ship.
Then later, as a a gunner’s mate
In charge of a five-inch-thirty-eight.
How often we were flung about
In our greyhound out at sea
As our dripping forefoot rose and fell
But nowhere could we flee.
Now three decades worth of sea
Has passed beneath my keel
Not all those years were filled with glee
But most were passed with zeal.
My shipmates - now with Davy Jones
And soon I’ll join that crew,
And we’ll all dance on Fiddler’s Green.
On watch, awaiting you.
With the eyes of an eagle, men and women are in your sight.
With your eyes oh Lord, you see all who dwell on the earth.
You saw me as wine flooded my tongue,
the bottle emptied of all its sorrows.
For I was weak, a wretched soul at the end of the gallows.
The hangman’s noose tight about my scrawny neck.
You were there, with tears and a smile.
You saw the end from the beginning,
You — the Alpha and Omega.
You sacrificed the strong drink, replacing it with water —
water cool and crisp from the spring of paradise.
The petty officer with his serpentine tattoo
tried to swallow me whole. The stormy seas
suddenly calmed by the warmth of your words
as you spoke through wise lips your truth.
Oh Lord of men and seas, cleanse me with your brine.
See your servant who prays with humble lips, on her knees.
Lift our feet above shallow shores to the heights of tomorrow,
where no suffering will defeat us, only sparkle our uniforms.
9/9/2019
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