An Ocean Journey

Hi, ladies! Here is a poem I wrote for a contest; I hope y’all like it!

“On the Indian Ocean big and blue

Was a young maiden with light brown hair

And eyes that sparkled like a drop of dew

Upon a tiny ship to England, she sailed

All alone except for the ship’s crew

Anne was the maiden’s name

And she sailed from the West Indies

From where her parents came

Around Cape Horn the ship set sail

When a storm came up that made the sailors quail

The waves were huge, the sky was black

The sailors cried, “We must turn back!”

But as the day grew late

James, who had a brave heart

And was also the first mate

Cried, “Do not be frightened! We will ride out the storm!”

And indeed,  in time, they rode out the storm

And by and by, the day became warm

The sailors’ hearts were no longer fearful

And their whistling and song was again cheerful

Days went by without shortcoming

And Anne indeed admired James, a hero

And one day she found him in the rigging

And wished to acknowledge his bravery

As James was up on the  ropes

Anne decided, as an excuse, to wash her clothes

Quickly she fetched hot water and soaps

And started scrubbing as hard as she could

As James came down from the crow’s nest

Anne  hung the clothes to dry in wind and sun combined

James greeted her with a smile

And Anne replied in kind

Then Anne said, “James, you were very brave in the storm.”

And he replied, “It was nothing at all.”

“But it was!” she cried, forlorn.

“If not for you, we would all have perished!”

“I wish I could repay you in some way!”

James replied, “Then perhaps come up here and keep me company.

For it does get lonely, I must say.”

I will, I will! Every day!” Anne replied with pleasure. “For I too get lonely.”

And thereon Anne would go

And keep him company, every day

They would talk of woods, rivers, and pure white snow

And each day their love grew

They sailed closer and closer to England

Hundreds of miles away

Their food ran low and lower still

Then the captain had something to say

“We are running out of food! It will not last a week more.

We are near the Canary Islands. Someone must go forth to find food.”

James volunteered, and so did Tom, whose leg was sore

“The warm air will be good for me, and my leg will heal,” Tom said.

The sailors went and came again

With loads of food, to last for months

And Tom came walking with a cane

“The air did me good,” he said

They sailed for another week or two

And because the sky grew black the next day

There was a storm coming, the captain knew.

“Reef the sails!” the captain shouted.

The storm hit with malicious force

One sail unfurled and was nearly ripped by the wind

James realized that he must climb the dangerous ropes course

If he was to reef the sail

“Please don’t do this!” Anne cried, her eyes full of tears

“I must, Darling; it is a sailor’s life,” he replied gently

Anne watched, his words echoing in her ears

As her love climbed the treacherous stair

James fought his way up the rope

And finally got to the sail

He reefed the sail and took hope

That he would safely return

He started to climb down the rope

And got about halfway

When the wind blew with force at the slippery slope

And made James let go his grasp

Anne watched as her true love fell

Into the foaming sea

And where he was in the brine, none could tell

And Anne’s grief was great

The storm subsided, the sky grew clear

The sun came up

The sea was as still as a mirror

But the mood was gloomy at the loss of James

Then the captain stood up and removed his cap

“James did a brave thing,” he said.

“If the sail had torn, we would still have been in the sea’s trap”

The sailors agreed with a loud “Aye!”

But Anne knew that she would never love again.”