Leaving the Port of St.John's
Darren Anderson
And so I kissed her
On the steps of the wooden city
Before I left port
The hard ground on which I had left
Was but a memory of little warmth
In this hellish cold rain
The bloody waves relentless
Struck her sides like a hammer
We were but a paper boat
In a bathtub of infants
Yet the grey depths slammed us more
Other than the memories there was only
The rationed cups of cocoa
Did I mention the memories
Shouts call me to the deck once again
Smoke beckons us in the distance
A Chinese merchant vessel this time
Confusion run down their bloodied faces
As they look to us for saving
But my kit does not supply
Me with an interpreter
I can only try to heal
And move to the next empty face
But the kiss and the thoughts
Of pre-war life
Carries me through the pummeling
From the unforgiving side of nature
Forty days to go and countless waves.