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Pea Soup
It came upon us during the middle watch,
And lasted the whole day long.
A thick eerie mist drifted over the deck,
A ship that sailed alone.
The deck was damp as were the sails.
Drops dripped from the shrouds.
Not one peek out of the sun,
For all those hours and hours.
Moisture filled the Captain's beard,
I saw him wipe his chin.
Silently we sat by our guns,
All of us brave men.
The crew on watch stood by the wheel.
Someone rang the bell,
The lookouts stood at their post.
A blind ship rose and fell.
It's not strange a silent prayer,
Was prayed to our God.
Would he keep us in his hand,
'Till he lifted this fog?
Copyright Michael Aye
Becalmed
The sun is high,
And the sea is flat.
We rowed these boats,
'Till we've broke our backs.
The towline there,
She's hanging slack.
We need some wind in our sails.
So, Blow! Blow!
You mighty wind!
Been gone too long.
Time to come back again.
I call to you like a long lost friend.
Won't ya fill our sails?
Copyright Michael Aye
Mighty, Mighty Ocean
Mighty, mighty ocean-
What magic do you possess,
To make a man sail your waters?
In the face of Death.
'O you mighty Ocean.
Mighty, mighty ocean-
So vast and so deep.
Do you know how many times,
You've made a widow weep?
'O you mighty Ocean.
Copyright Michael Aye
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Storm at Sea
The lightning flashes, the thunder rolls.
The sea is heavy, the wind is cold.
I look around, all I see-
Are weary souls, about to freeze.
It's a rainy day a' sea;
Been this way almost a week.
The sky is gray, and I am, too.
Wondering if I'll get home to you.
Yesterday morn' we lost the cook.
We never found him, we couldn't even look.
The rain keeps falling hard on this deck,
There's not a dry place, it's all soaking wet.
It's a rainy day a' sea;
Been this way almost a week.
The sky is gray, and I am, too.
Wondering if I'll make it home to you.
We need some sunshine, a sky o' blue;
To warm our souls to see us thru.
But the sky is gray and I am, too.
Wishing I was at home, sitting by you.
Copyright Michael Aye
Skylarking
Searching for fresh air.
The crew gathered on deck,
And stared out in awe;
As the
Caribbean sun set.
They drank down their ration,
And lit up their pipes.
The master had promised,
Another scorching night.
Copyright Michael Aye
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ODE TO ROSALYND AND KYDD
(From Stockwin's "The Admirals Daughter")
It was such a sunny day
Making plans for her wedding day
A short cruise to
Plymouth…
For her rig.
The sexton said, “A black squall blew
Sank the ship took Rosalynd too
And when they told him…
Kydd, he just went crazy.
Said it ain’t fair…she died too soon
Our love…was just a bloom
But death tore the petals…
All away.
Tell me Renzi what do I do
I feel like…I been run thru
When I close my eyes…
I see her face.
Grog on my breath…shaky hands
Dreams are drowned…I’m a desperate man
All I got left…is you friend…
And the jealous sea,
It took her from me.
Copyright Michael Aye
Sunken Love
He told that he loved her,
He'd be gone, but not for long.
And if she watched the beaches,
She'd see his sails coming home.
They say it was a hurricane,
Took her man and drowned their dreams.
Just another victim,
A ship lost on the sea.
But if you go down to
Savannah ,
Along the shoreline late that night,
You can hear a young girl's voice,
Above the rushing tide.
And if you go down to the beach,
There's footprints in the sand.
Where she walks the Savannah Beaches,
Waiting for her man.
Copyright Michael Aye
He Whispered Softly
He whispered softly and he told her,
Lay your head down on my shoulder.
I'll be gentle, so don't you worry,
But time's so short we have to hurry.
Tomorrow morn my ship must sail.
The time is now for our farewell.
But I'll be back someday, you'll see.
Now the drums are calling me.
Dry your tears, no need in crying.
Even though they say I'm dying.
You know my battles are fought and won,
And you have my baby son.
He whispered softly and he told her,
Lay your head down on my shoulder.
I'll be gentle, so don't you worry,
But time's so short we have to hurry.
Copyright Michael Aye |
A Woman's Lonely Heart
You don't have to tell me,
I've come to understand.
Takes a certain kind of woman,
To love a sailing man.
I tried to make you love me,
You tried to find the spark.
But, a ship that sails,
Kills the flames in a lonely heart.
Copyright Michael Aye
Sailor's Farewell (HMS SeaWolf)
The day is dark and dreary,
I can smell the rain.
I'm sailing with the tide.
Will I stand the pain?
Teary eyed she waves goodbye,
Watching as I go.
It's a conflict of emotion,
Waging war in my soul.
Copyright Michael Aye
Return to Port
Rain falls when it wants to,
Like the wind that fills our sail.
I recall the tears on her face,
When we said our farewells.
Her memory's like a dagger,
The blade, cold and sharp.
All the nights I walked these decks,
With a lonely aching heart.
Tomorrow we'll return to port;
This cruise is finally over.
She'll be standing on the pier,
Waiting for me to hold her.
Copyright Michael Aye
Every Port
I's a sailing man,
On a Man 'O War.
I's sailed the world,
It be every port,
I's left me heart,
wid some pretty girl.
Copyright Michael Aye
Left Her Crying
Left her crying on the pier,
When we put out to sea.
Now every night I walk these decks,
‘Cause I can’t go to sleep.
Every time I close my eyes,
I can see her face.
Makes me wonder if her love,
Is nothing but a waste.
My heart so empty,
When she is not around.
And if she needed help,
Where would it be found.
Copyright Michael Aye
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The Prize
Yonder ships a privateer,
With men and guns a plenty.
What say you my brave men-
Shall we take this enemy?
Reduce all sail! Run out the guns!
Put one across her bow!
Yonder ship will be our prize,
Before the quarter hour.
Copyright Michael Aye
Battle Fatigue
I take a breath and look around me,
I'm grateful to be alive.
The guns, they're all silent now,
But, the smoke still burns my eyes.
There's a heaviness within me,
It takes a heavy toll.
It burns like rum going down,
To an empty, aching soul.
Copyright Michael Aye
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Duty
They sanded down the decks;
The guns were all run out.
"Let's give them what for lads!"
They heard the Cap'n shout.
The talk of duty and honour,
Meant little to the crew.
They fought for their mates,
And perhaps a prize or two.
Copyright Michael Aye
The Watch (HMS SeaWolf)
The officer of the deck,
Peered thru a blinding snow.
They'd just turned the glass,
Half an hour left to go.
Then the rattle of muskets,
Shouts- Then something explodes.
Turning to the mid he cursed.
Just our luck don't ya know.
Copyright Michael Aye
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An Ole Salt
I'm writing you this letter,
There's things I gotta say.
The innocent boy that sailed away,
Returns a worldly man today.
It was a mighty warship,
On her rolls I signed my name.
After thirty years at sea,
It's saltwater that fills my veins.
I fought the wind -n- weather;
I battled a raging sea.
Round after round I fired the big guns,
As men died around me.
I tasted wine in many a port.
Read letters 'till my heart yearned.
Many's the night I smoked my pipe,
While sitting on the stern.
They tell me now I must retire;
My able days are done.
And what the sea took away,
The sea now returns.
Copyrighted Micheal Aye
The Fireship
`Hit were like a roaring inferno-
The fires `o `ell so bright.
Flames leaping upwards,
Like fireworks in the night.
`Hit started on the main deck,
Quick like it climbed the mast.
The sails be ablaze now,
The flame `as spread so fast.
`Hits set a course for the flagship
Less some `ow it’s turned.
The only choice Jack tar `as
Is jump ship or burn.
Copyrighted Micheal Aye
Grog
I stands here confused,
Me heads in a fog.
Can't finds me ship,
Damn that ole grog.
Me eyes be awash,
Me timbers not steady.
I tries to walk down,
This heaving old Jetty.
There be a boatman,
He'll carry me out;
For a shilling or two,
The larcenous old lout!
Copyright Michael Aye
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The Gun Captain
The Cap'n yells- "Fire!"
The guns leap as one.
Round after round,
We worked 'um 'till we's numb.
I smells the stench 'o powder,
I's blinded by the smoke.
It hurts me chest to breathe,
It makes me cough and choke.
I felt the ship shudder,
They's scored another hit.
A gun be overturned;
The main mast is split.
Broadside after broadside,
That last 'un were the worse.
I see the chaplain praying,
I 'urd the bosun curse.
I steals a look about me,
So many mates lay dead.
The thunder from the guns,
Echoes thru me head.
I 'ear the word, "cease fire."
Yonder ship 'as struck.
I give a sigh and wipes me face,
A victory cheer goes up.
Copyrighted Micheal Aye
The Forgotten Salt
I walked out of Whitehall,
Had my orders in my hand.
I saw this ragged shell,
That once had been a man.
He leaned against the building,
A timber for a leg.
He once sailed with Nelson,
Now he had to beg.
Forgotten the days of glory,
Long cast over the side.
Our country now shuns them,
Men crippled, and those who died.
I fished out a guinea,
He deserved so much more.
He said, "Thank you kindly Cap'n,
Lost me leg at Trafalgar.
Copyrighted Micheal Aye
Men Who Sail the Sea
You laugh, you drink, you dance,
You men who sail the sea.
For tomorrow who's to know,
What might assail upon thee.
Be it gale or sword or cannon,
-A sinking ship it be.
So live life heartily,
You men who sail the sea.
Copyrighted Micheal Aye
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