The Ship Called 'Family'
The ship called Family
As I sail on this ship, alone on this big empty ocean,
I look for the crew who are no longer there.
I look at the scars on the hull caused by the storms we have battled,
I scan the horizon for a port where I can be happy once again,
I go to the sleeping quarters where the crew once slept,
I find a toy panda and a dummy left there,
I think of the happy times we had on this ship,
The happiness, the love we shared, the companionship,
and the determination we had to battle any storm we faced.
I manned the pumps and kept the water out,
And no matter how stormy it became, I would never let our ship sink.
But the storms got more fierce, and the boat took more water,
And I struggled to keep the pumps going all alone.
As the struggle got harder, the crew got more unsettled,
There was talk of jumping ship, where there was not so much water,
Where there was not so much tension.
I manned the pumps and kept pumping nonetheless,
Determined to keep our ship "family" afloat.
But the day came when a new ship came along,
The ship was called "Separation" and gave promise of new lands,
New adventures, and opportunities.
Alas the crew saw the new ship as too good to be true,
and left to embark on a new journey.
Without the crew, the ship will still sail,
There is regular contact with the ship called "Separation",
The crew are still there, my crew no less,
They will always be my crew, but I will always feel loss,
On this old storm battled ship, manning the pumps as I go,
On an uncertain journey, with a panda as my crew.
Copyright © Hugh Ford | Year Posted 2014
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