PORTRAIT OF A SEAMAN – 1939 – 45.
You may have seen him stagger on the street
and think, what a drunken fool!!
But did you ever think beyond the man,
who sails out from the “Pool.â€
He sails across the Atlantic,
so treacherous and grey,
dodging the packs of U-boats
out searching for their prey.
Where the lifeline of our nation
sails bravely to and fro
and the blazing scenes of stricken ships,
light the night in brilliant glow.
He watched his friends struggle to survive
in oil spewed fiery water
and watched them sink beneath the waves,
in a sea that gives no quarter.
He may be thinking of his fear of U-boats
when his ship is left behind,
or the bombers coming out of the morning sun,
all this can be on his mind.
He sails the murderous convoys
to Russia, the States and Malta,
though his days and nights are full of fear,
from his duty, he doesn`t faulter.
So when you see him on the street,
I ask you people, think!!
He`ll shortly be returning to the sea
And I think he has earned his drink.
SALTY
