Dirges for the shipwrecked

“And these mine eyes shall see all times, how they are lost in the sea of vast eternity.”
—Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

Maritime Messages the Mainland Missed
Of that calm before and during the storm
tempestuous times with life jackets and life boats
throwing out lifelines in many different forms
flotsam and jetsam is filled with glass floats
in the sea foam high tide and hurricanes crest
tropical typhoons ignore the strongest jetty
many lives are lost, tears on the dead man’s chest
undercurrents sweep away all those not ready
in the Mariana Trench deepest part of the ocean
down in the depths volcanoes flow without sound
underwater sea life exists without commotion
dirges for the shipwrecked, drowned, never found
messages in songs, ballads, bottles lost at sea
island harbors and havens for Pacific poetry.
 
Moonlight on Tinian and Manchuria
Moonlight shines on the Pacific Ocean tonight
the smell of the sea comes up the island cliffs
I drink two cans of warm ‘Kloud’ Korean beer
the constellation Lyra the Harp fades from sight
moonlight dances on water, clouds up in the sky
all alone I start to hum the old song ‘Stardust’
then think of Dean Martin singing ‘Amore’
“…the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie”
I toast friendly dragon clouds passing in the night
you told me you saw them in the sky in China
they dance and disappear in the warm moonlight
you are north of North Korea in Manchuria
visiting your mother in Heilongjiang province
now the moon shines on the Black Dragon River.

Heilongjiang is a province in NE China in northern Manchuria. Heilongjiang means Black Dragon River in the Chinese language.

From Yesteryear to Buds in Your Ear
Gone are the days of nickel candy bars, five cent cigars
forgotten the telephone booth make your call for a dime
gazing up and hitching your wagon to wandering stars
wedding parties singing ‘get me to the church on time’
yesterday it was astronauts and landing on the moon
vinyls, cassette tapes,VHS morphing into cds and dvds
elephants in the circus and daring on a flying trapeze
a camp fire barbecue strumming and humming a tune
now people can’t take their eyes off their I phone 24 7s
no talk at meals cell phones take photos reach far away
communication satellites rotate high up in the heavens
tweeters tweet FB memes and shares, instagram all day
one would think all this stimuli fills every little void
yet our nation is in peril, death from synthetic opioids.

Been Up So Long it Looks Like Dawn to Me
I’ve been up for so long it looks like dawn to me
way up in the clouds a little pink in the stratosphere
night is flying away and dawn is just about to be
jet airplanes passing back and forth from there to here
been uptown for musical dates and I’d like to stay there
why go downtown when this is what I want to hear
been up and down and around the block, once in pairs
been up the fast elevator and the big escalator too
and trudged up and down many the flight of stairs
been up to heaven in another life far above the blue
been up so long it feels like relative normal life to me
on the island of Tinian’s cliffs high above the sea
my sunrise spirit is up and I refuse to wear a frown
as the late Tom Petty sang, “…and I won’t back down.”