Post by Administrator on Aug 23, 2016 23:46:58 GMT
THE PEARLY GATES
The Pearly gates are open wide - there the Captain stands,
Ticking off a lengthy roll at the passing of all hands,
He does not look for plaster saints or someone he has missed,
He’s searching for brave mariners further down the list.
Life at sea was fraught enough before the war began,
Though ships routine was normal and fair to every man,
Then the conflict started - the Hell began and how -
Peace was really shattered when a mine blew off the bow.
They carried vital cargoes for us to fight the foe,
Across the rolling oceans transporting to and fro,
It wasn’t quite so placid when a Junkers’ bombed the deck,
Or jumping in the briny with a life belt round the neck.
They also sailed on `buckets` - in tramps that’s most corrosion,
What was worse and more diverse was suffering from explosion,
They could man up any craft from liners to a barque,
But scrambled to a life raft when torpedoes found their mark.
In convoys or alone - where defence was mighty thin,
They were striving for survival when the plates were crumpled in,
Seamen knew the hazards like storms and drifting fog,
But not a German raider with a shellfire monologue.
When they entered Heaven the Master made his marks,
By the names of Merchantmen who shared the sea with sharks,
He did not query good or bad - amiss or mainly sober
But praised them for the lives they gave, `ere the war was over.
When you see the albatross patrol the Southern climes,
It’s said they bear the sailor souls of those heroic times,
Flying free and happily where no one shoots `em down,
Soaring to eternity - nevermore to drown.
Joe Earl.
The Pearly gates are open wide - there the Captain stands,
Ticking off a lengthy roll at the passing of all hands,
He does not look for plaster saints or someone he has missed,
He’s searching for brave mariners further down the list.
Life at sea was fraught enough before the war began,
Though ships routine was normal and fair to every man,
Then the conflict started - the Hell began and how -
Peace was really shattered when a mine blew off the bow.
They carried vital cargoes for us to fight the foe,
Across the rolling oceans transporting to and fro,
It wasn’t quite so placid when a Junkers’ bombed the deck,
Or jumping in the briny with a life belt round the neck.
They also sailed on `buckets` - in tramps that’s most corrosion,
What was worse and more diverse was suffering from explosion,
They could man up any craft from liners to a barque,
But scrambled to a life raft when torpedoes found their mark.
In convoys or alone - where defence was mighty thin,
They were striving for survival when the plates were crumpled in,
Seamen knew the hazards like storms and drifting fog,
But not a German raider with a shellfire monologue.
When they entered Heaven the Master made his marks,
By the names of Merchantmen who shared the sea with sharks,
He did not query good or bad - amiss or mainly sober
But praised them for the lives they gave, `ere the war was over.
When you see the albatross patrol the Southern climes,
It’s said they bear the sailor souls of those heroic times,
Flying free and happily where no one shoots `em down,
Soaring to eternity - nevermore to drown.
Joe Earl.