‘Twas what ye’d call a nasty night,
An’ ‘twa”t no time to pick a fight,
Th’ we struck th’ zone;
Th’ fog wuz settlin’ purty thick —
Screws ‘u’d race, an’ buck, an’ kick,
An’ stays ‘u’d creak an’ groan.
A crew at every three-inch gun,
An’ all han’s keyed up fer th’ run —
Wuz how we cruised that night;
I tuk th’ wheel — I’d never had
A taste o’ war — wuz jest a lad —
But I had shipped t’ fight.
An’ soon ol’ quartermaster Bill
An’ me made friends, as seamen will,
Without much else t’ do,
An’ Bill wuz on th’ bridge that night,
T’ kinda see that things went right,
An’ sort o’ visit too.
Sez Bill: “Ye know it ain’t a fight
That’s getting’ on me nerves tonight,
But I guess ye’ll agree
That I have kinda wronged me kid,
Fer when th’ mother died, I did
Th’ getaway t’ sea.”
“An’ I h’ain’t never heard,” sez Bill, —
“An’ I reckon now I never will —
As how th’ brat come through,
Fer I’ve a feelin’, lad, tonight,
An’ ef I’m calculatin’ right,
I want t’ ask ef you
Will be a father — ef — ” sez he,
“Ef — what I’m thinkin’ of should be —
To that-there kid o’ mine.”
I promised Bill I’d do my best,
Then eased a point, Sou-west b’ West,
T’ fetch ‘er in ter line,
When, “GOD!” Sez Bill; “LOOK! Port ‘er quick!”
An’ pointed where th’ fog hung thick
Jest off th’ starb’rd bow;
‘Bout then th’ lookout yelled; an’ aft
“All hands” wuz sounded through th’ craft;
An’ then, someway — somehow
We lifted like a surf-borne skiff;
Then hung an’ trembled; straightened stiff;
An’ settled by th’ stern;
I struck th’ binnacle an’ hung
Until a list t’ starb’rd flung
Me with an awful turn,
An’ I brought up ferninst a hatch —
‘N’ through th’ fog I leaped, t’ catch
A piece of deck-house frame;
I heard Bill yell, an’ like a streak
Seen ‘im shoot by — an’ then th’ creak
O’ life-boat tackle came.
The Cap’n’s voice by megaphone;
Th’ siren’s blasts; a shriek — a groan;
Th’ hiss o’ boiler steam;
Th’ crash o’ superstructure gear;
Th’ gurgle o’ water — near —
An’ then, I ‘spect, a dream —
Fer I don’t recollect th’ rest,
Till, half awake, across th’ breast
O’ “Signal Bill” I rolled;
An’ there, aboard a life-raft, sprawled
Two men — like they’d washed up — er crawled
An’ one wuz stark an’ cold,
(Burt Franklin Jenness)
More Poetry from Burt Franklin Jenness:
Burt Franklin Jenness Poems based on Topics: Night, Sense & Perception, Dreams, God, Friendship, Fathers- The Black Watch (Burt Franklin Jenness Poems)
- The Flare-Back (Burt Franklin Jenness Poems)
- The Lure Of The East (Burt Franklin Jenness Poems)
- The Bedford Nell (Burt Franklin Jenness Poems)
- Bumboats (Burt Franklin Jenness Poems)
- Sea Dreams (Burt Franklin Jenness Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: God Poems, Night Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Dreams Poems, Friendship Poems, Fathers PoemsBased on Keywords: straightened, gurgle, lookout, boiler, brat, purty, tuk, someway, spect, keyed, cruised
- The Troubadour. Canto 1 (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
- Mr. Hosea Biglow's Speech In March Meeting (James Russell Lowell Poems)
- Advice, To Search For The Lord Jesus Christ (Rees Prichard Poems)
- Adam: A Sacred Drama. Act 3. (William Cowper Poems)
- The Campaign, A Poem, To His Grace The Duke Of Marlborough (Joseph Addison Poems)