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North Atlantic Tempest

On a night so dark no shapes or shadows are discernible, not even your hand held in contrast against the sky. The non-skid covering the steel deck holds fast to the soles of your boots; keeps you from slipping as she heaves and rolls over the angry sea. The giant swells push you skyward, rising to the crest of the wave only to let you fall again, crashing violently down into the trough. The whole ship shakes and shudders under the strain. A haunting, painful groan echoes through the steel as she rolls over to starboard where you stand clutching the hand rail, your only barrier from the angry waters now only feet below. Her heavy role has you holding more of your weight on your hands than your feet. Your mind is whirling as you try to ignore the feeling that you are falling. She holds there for several, eternal seconds as fear and panic grip your nerves and you wonder if she will rise again or be consumed under the crashing wall of the next swell. You can hear it growing, building to a mountain of frigid angry water looming above you and you start to contemplate an eternity in the cold dark grave at your feet. Finally the anxiety pounding in your chest and the trembling in your arms and hands give way to the increasing strain on your legs as the weight of your body bears down on the rising deck pressing skyward again. The fear slips away and excitement builds with the anticipation of the whole scenario starting again. All around the wind is howling like phantom ghosts of Davey’s dead, screeching in your ear as they whip around and race pass. On their heels they carry the salty spray you taste on your lips and feel on your skin as they push and pull you to and fro, trying to break your grip and throw you to the deck, or over the side into the blackness of the rolling sea. Holding on for dear life you gaze out for the horizon, or, at least you think you are. In the total darkness you cannot tell if you are looking up, down, or even if both eyes are looking in the same direction. You strain your eyes trying to catch a glimpse of the horizon. Suddenly! The sky cracks open, blindingly bright as the bolts of lightning strike at the rolling seas below. Instantly everything is illuminated. For a split second you can see; you can see the white knuckles clutching the handrail; you can see the white caps breaking over the waves; the mountainous swells charging the ship in an angry unstoppable torrent, but the image is static, frozen in time for the split second of the lightning flash. An ethereal painting from Neptune’s gallery burned into your eyes. You see it in every direction, even if you close your eyes, you can still see it for several seconds until it dissolves into the total blackness and again you stand blind waiting for the next flash as she crests the wave and you feel the deck drop away beneath your feet. The sensation of weight loss reminds you to grasp the rail tighter again for fear the wind might carry you aloft. The feeling of flight is overwhelming and the temptation to stretch out your arms wells up inside you as the she settles into the trough and your own weight on the deck again reminds you of your earthly bounds.

Ahoy

Ahoy! The Vikings cry
Clashing swords under a blood red sky
Screams of death fill the air
Once brave men no more shall tread
The Vikings lair

A shipmate lost

A sailor's life
The sea was his home
And now his grave
Beneath the foam
Lost at sea
Swept over the side
Feelings of remorse
A shipmate has died

The Call

High atop an ocean wave
A glimps of land
Your eyes they crave
The crashing sounds
Of the ocean's rage
Are the icy depths
Of a sailor's grave

Wander Lust

When you ride upon the sea at night
The stars in the sky cause your mind to take flight
These are the times you never want to end
When all of your troubles
Blow away in the wind

My Yellow Ribbon

Screaming insanity
Beautiful vanity
Heaving and swelling
Crashing thunder
Tossing and turning
Drawing me under
Cries of Hell
The howling gale
Life and death
Hang by a thread
The beautiful sea
Fill me with dread
For the love I thrive
I must survive

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Publication Date: 12-12-2011

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