Courage of a Sailor

Out into the distance he stares,
     stroking his goatee
Words echoing in his head:
     "She's back home, waiting for me."

Weeks and months spent,
     amidst the turbulent sea
With one redeeming thought:
     "She's back home, waiting for me."

The hard life of a sailor's written,
     not as a choice but a decree
Only successfully fulfilled by:
     "She's back home, waiting for me."

The sailor's nightmare comes,
     dark clouds he can clearly see
Which he can only stand up and face, because:
     "She's back home, waiting for me."

He heaves and he pulls,
     trapped at the ocean's mercy
And amidst the pain and strain, he cries:
     "She's back home, waiting for me."

The storm tears, and it rips,
     and his blood does stain the sea
But what kills him most, below the ocean, is:
     "She's back home, waiting for me."