Full Sail

“Set them,

topsail, mainsail,

full sail, forge ahead,

damn the weather!”

The Captain scurries aft,

into the galley,

to hide from the storm

in the cold store,

next to rotting beef

salted in barrels

over three years ago.

And the cabin boy

is lashed to the wheel,

fighting the currents,

and the hot air which fills

the sails as they drive

this ship to the

edge of the world.

The scurvy is rife,

every man Jack

or Jill is dying.

The ship’s surgeon

decries the lack of crew

to help and warns of plague.

They cannot afford

to buy medication

on the other side

of the water.

But it’s 'on we go!'

Into the maelstrom,

onto the reefs,

straight to the bottom.