Poems and the Sea

These are poems written about the sea and my connection to the sea. They are a companion to my semi autobiographical novel Tales From The Sea. Many were composed during exercises in my creative writing class. Available from Amazon.

There are still dockers working at unloading and loading ships but they are becoming a dying breed in Europe as more cargo travels in containers. This is my salute to them. 

The Docker

Boxes, bales, crates, and bags

All shapes, all sizes and all weights

Grab, lift, heave, pull and push

With murderous looking hooks

All shining steel and wooden handles

Used sometimes to settle scores

Behind the shed way out of sight.

Aching muscles, creaking joints

A docker’s bane, a risk to take.

The patch of sky above our heads

Shows clouds rushing on the wind

Or sun casting shadows on the deck

Hidden, darkened as the next lift comes

On noisy crane and whirring wires

Another load to push in place

Stowed to reach some distant port

Unbroken, undamaged and intact.

Ten o’clock, a mug of tea

Then back to push and pull

And stow some more.

Lunch box opened one o’clock

In the shelter by the shed.

Just a brief relaxing break 

Before we descend once more

Into our small square world

Where we work

Home that night for dinner

After to the docker’s club

To talk of cargoes and of ships

Bound for those exotic ports

 Singapore, Bangkok Hong Kong

Then back to bed to get some rest

Before another stint 

Down in the hold.

Eddie Gubbins