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Anniversary of U.S.S. Arizona
After standing on the decks of the memorial for the U.S.S. Arizona,
I wrote this poem to honor our fallen comrades on the
50th Anniversary of that day, December 7, 1991.
It is included in my book, Autumn Leaves.
We came to pay you tribute,
O’er encrusted decks we stood.
And because you are deserving,
We rendered as we could.
Oil seeps up to surface light,
Rainbowed tears of those below,
Doomed forever to silence
Those many long years ago.
“Forget me not,” you whisper.
“Perish the thought,” say I.
“Though you sleep beneath the sea,
Your memory shall not die!”
“Remember Pearl! Remember Pearl!”
Soon became our national cry.
Our country rose in anger
On a vengeance trail to fly.
We shed our tears; we shed our blood.
War took an awesome toll.
Still we fought on to victory
While you topped our “Honor Roll.”
So rest in peace, fellow comrades,
The victory has been won.
We’ll not forget the price you paid
Seven December, Nineteen Forty-One.
Note: Oil still seeps out of the hull of the U.S.S. Arizona, creating rainbows on the water above it.
U.S.S. ARIZONA
After standing on the decks of the memorial for the U.S.S. Arizona,
I wrote this poem to honor our fallen comrades on the
50th Anniversary of that day, December 7, 1991.
It is included in my book, Autumn Leaves.
We came to pay you tribute,
O’er encrusted decks we stood.
And because you are deserving,
We rendered as we could.
Oil seeps up to surface light,
Rainbowed tears of those below,
Doomed forever to silence
Those many long years ago.
“Forget me not,” you whisper.
“Perish the thought,” say I.
“Though you sleep beneath the sea,
Your memory shall not die!”
“Remember Pearl! Remember Pearl!”
Soon became our national cry.
Our country rose in anger
On a vengeance trail to fly.
We shed our tears; we shed our blood.
War took an awesome toll.
Still we fought on to victory
While you topped our “Honor Roll.”
So rest in peace, fellow comrades,
The victory has been won.
We’ll not forget the price you paid
Seven December, Nineteen Forty-One.
Note: Oil still seeps out of the hull of the U.S.S. Arizona, creating rainbows on the water above it.
Escape
This poem comes from Autumn Leaves:
Standing by the seaside
One cold, wet, dreary day,
Longing for some warmth and sun,
My thoughts just slipped away.
There on a sleek, white schooner,
Under a blustery sky,
The wind billowed full her majestic sails,
Causing her rigging to sigh.
Dark clouds on the horizon
Signaled an on-coming gale.
With canvas shortened and shoulders bared,
She slashed through the rising swell.
Hands clenched tightly, knuckles white,
As she tacks before the wind,
Then relax once more as she gathers
And rights herself again.
Her deck sways gently beneath me now,
Slipping through the warm Gulf Stream,
Able to dance over white cap and calm–
She’s truly an ocean queen.
Streamlined bodies of Neptune
Frolic in playful behavior
As clean, cold spray stings my face
And nostrils inhale the salty savor.
Over on the port side, an island appears to sight,
Lingering in quiet beauty of early morning light.
I spy a sun-browned body, climbing a stately palm
To gather nature’s bounty–ah, what soothing balm!
“Stop dreaming!” my conscious mind shouts at me,
Invading solitude sublime,
But a tiny voice deep inside answers,
“It’s solace for a work-weary mind.”
It seeks to escape harsh reality,
To regain balance on its beam,
And like a ship without a rudder,
So is man without his dream.
wfosterwelborn 