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ships (Remove filter)

The Sailors' Homecoming

There is a time

channel mists behind, we sit at anchor for the tide

then in the early hours the Thames pilots board

and - slowly for the mist still lingers close to land -

we move up river reaches, take tugs and find our lock

to gently nudge our way between the barges

until we are tied up again in Albert's dock,

derricks swung and hatches open -

and I am free

 

Again,...

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On the Beach

Between the wooden breakwaters

I sit on the flinty stones

to watch the grey sea

waves rattling the beach

 

That foaming water

that was once the horizon

where I sailed

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The Artist [1]

In so few splashed acrylic lines

see Cornish fishing boats

take shape against the quay

the red hull and the yellow

 

See Cornish fishing boats

mirrored in the harbour sea

the red hull and the yellow

with the deep sky sunk below

 

Mirrored in the harbour sea

the jumble of masts and cranes

with the deep sky sunk below

and the distant sea above

 

The jumbl...

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The Navigator

Once I plotted my course

on nautical charts -

I used the sun and stars

to fix

                my position in the world

 

Once my ship sailed the seas

by my compass course -

I drew lines on a map

to guide

                me through far off seas to port

 

Once I was the pilot

steering from the bridge -

But she altered my course

loving

                m...

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Mostly Welsh

I grew up in Wales

Around the Swansea docks

I walked beneath huge cargo ships

Held up with props and blocks

 

I was made in Wales

Around the southern ports

I watched the big ships dock

My family guessed my thoughts

 

I was mined in Wales

Near valleys black with slag

And closing pits and picket lines

With many a mine lodge flag

 

I was forged in Wales

...

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The Schooners

The Schooners

 

With billowed sails the Schooner glides across the open sea

The crew secures the rigging as they’ve done through history

Port side there’s a Humpback coming up to take a look

They watch in pure amazement its like a picture from a book.

 

The Skipper takes the Helm and guides the vessel on its path

The crew they scramble round the deck to fight mother natures...

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ShipsOcean

A Memory of Schooldays Cargoes

A Memory of Schooldays                                                                                                       

Cargoes

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,                                                                                                                                          

Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,                                    ...

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shipscargothe oceanpoemhistoryJohn Masefield

SWIM IN THE SEA

 

SWIM IN THE SEA

 

Dark blue ocean has so many moods, just like a person.

If you ever make one mistake you will pay for it dearly with

life; this ocean is a thing of beauty and of mystery, yet deadly.

So many planes and ships have disappeared into the dark waters –

who knows where they are now?

People sail the seas on such flimsy craft, old sea rafts and dangero...

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