Down In The Hold

if you can not detect a little heave ho' then please leave swiftly and without leaving a stain behind me hearty's .. thank you

Down In The Hold

The sponge

she wielded so well,

was full

of some other fools

sweat,

long before she

had a chance to wipe

his brow

with it, both cool

and it wet ..

But it was the least

she could do

under such difficult

circumstances ..

Given the promises

he made

and those that she

had kept ..

It was just one of

so many

unfortunate things

we all guessed ..

But nevertheless,

it was both

noted and welcome ..

Yet despite that

single act of kindness

he died the very

next day ..

Somewhere down

in the hold

up to his neck in

the dead

and the wounded

and likewise those

dying ..

If you so wish

ma’am, you may yet

find him

stowed somewhere,

deep down in the hold ..

Author's Note

much the same as a dog is not just for Christmas .. this is not just for old sailors ..

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

no ... i don't suppose it is, Nev. i think of the slave ships and how we are told they were held on that long journey of hopeless despair .. your poem makes it up to date so to speak .. and personal .. there are all kinds of "holds" in human societies since the fall ... chains and shackles not always making marks on ankles and wrists .. but deeper wounds ... far more destructive says i .. i am very curious about where this woman comes from ... she is intriguing to me in your story ... a Florence Nightingale set during the Black Plague perhaps .. Mother Teresa on the streets of India .. i think the conditions that would make the sponge wet with another's sweat being used if powerful ... i have a small suggestion if i may .. not a criticism at all: in the lines
"with it, both cool
and it wet .." i would suggest another comma after "it" in the second line ... for me "it" has significance and in reading thought it might be made more of ... whatever "it" seems to be .. at least to me .. i could be waaaaaaaaaaay off but those are my true thoughts .. an engaging and inspiring read for me sir .. thanks for sharing
E.

[Neville]

many thanks you's my very dearest of E's .. and I much appreciate your kind suggestion .. I shall amend accordingly and credit you in January with the eventual publication of Echoes Don't Tell Lies .. Stay well dear friend and don't be a stranger .. N.

[Ken Simm.]

Think of battles at sea. Think of pirates, think of horrendous slave ships. Think of moving to a new unknown land. Think of scurvy and as well as all that and more think strangely of a Florence Nightingale figure. A figure of kindness of love and of hope.
This is very special in its story telling. It catches the readers imagination with a few clues and then carries it across the waves.

[Neville]

how kind .. I feel like I am drowning in thoughts borrowed .. Neville