An Afternoon Dream

I close my eyes,

Eight bells sound,

“Relieve the watch

Relieve the wheel

And the lookout.”

My ears perceive the prow

As it cuts the waves,

Splitting the sea,

Throwing the waters aside

With that powerful hiss.

My nose wishes it could smell

The oil that keeps

This steel engine whole

In the face of sea and salt,

I don’t want to open my eyes.

When I do, I shall be

An old man again,

Sitting at my desk,

In my house,

In the forest,

Far from the sea,

While young men do the work,

I long to do.