THINE IS THE POWER
I know the bar is closed
he said
but you must understan'
the Purser is a friend
of mine,
the same Masonic clan.
The Captain too is in
my lodge,
but you are clearly
not,
so open up the bar
right now
before I make things
hot.
He flashed his Rolex
hard at me
and it was clearly plain,
to see,
that he and I would never be
soul partners in
fraternity.
But might is right,
sometimes
it seems,
I opened up
and then his dreams
were medicated with
the booze,
empyrean highlight
of his cruise.
(c)John Holt 26-Aug-99
SHE SAID
She said
her name
was Beverley.
and I thought
she was
heavenly,
but daddy was
a VeeEyePee
and wouldn't
let her look
at me.
That didn't
really matter
though,
Lust always
finds a way
and so
we met, me
and sweet
Beverley,
to make love
rather cleverly
between the
davits
in 1st class,
behind the
ropes and
shining brass,
upon the
polished
wooden deck
(I left
a hickey on
her neck).
(c)John Holt 26-Aug-99
WEIGHTLESS
in a universe
of wet atoms
I slide.
Naked
in this realm
my body
glides
defying
gravity.
Nothing else
matters here.
No land or
depravity
of dry earth
I am Poseidon
unclothed.
Neptune owes
allegiance
to me.
I swim
in this realm
Ocean Lord
of The Sea.
(c)John Holt 03-AUG-1998
HOMEWARD BOUND
We left Hong Kong for Singapore,
then sailed again to Bombay shore.
Days sped by, the ship had found
wings to send us homeward bound.
No fuss, swift speed, with no commotion,
on across the Indian Ocean.
Passengers on and cargo laden
next we reached the port of Aden.
With all due haste we left that place
and crossed the calm Red Sea,
where Christ had taught and also preached
with children on his knee.
Then gradually all speed was dropped
and we had graceful glide,
through Pharoah`s land of heat and sand
from Suez to Port Said.
From there the turbines set a pace
our course we did not falter
until we passed that mighty Rock,
the brooding giant, Gibraltar.
And soon those famous cliffs we saw
the dazzling white of Dover,
'twas then we knew, with cheerful heart,
our journey now was over.
ŠJohn Holt 12-AUG-1998
OCEAN CRUISE
When oft we stood
beneath that dazzling blue
and cast our gaze
across a foam-decked sea
of equal hue.
Precious were those moments,
brief though they seemed.
Whispered secrets,
future plans,
we talked and laughed
and dreamed.
Such happy days,
those mornings never grey.
Your lovely eyes that spoke,
but used no words,
and chased my blues away.
Still lingers in my mind
your voice,
and the way you used to speak,
the Sweet loveliness
of that warm smile,
the shy dimple in your cheek.
Think on those times
of how I laughed and clowned
and threw convention to the winds,
though others often frowned.
The sun has long since faded
but read this, and sometimes muse,
on the nights and days
of those four weeks,
memories of an ocean cruise.
(c)John Holt 11-AUG-1998
SEA SAW
Sometimes I would stand
on the deck at night,
watching clouds scudding,
obscuring the moon,
cutting the silver light.
When that was so I stared down
at the frothing foam breaking,
making such a crest off the bow,
It seemed we were cutting
an immense dark ocean cake
as we sped through mid-night
leaving a phospherent wake.
I shall never forget such things
of sea and sky, recorded then
in the retina of each eye.
(c)John Holt 13-AUG-1998
UNI-FORM FILLING
They shipped us through Suez
but forget to mention the heat
or the flies settling
in a neat cluster.
Nor did they warn us about
the arab trader`s bluster
as he sought the next swindle.
Even now my thoughts dwindle
to that day the dock policeman
stamped my passport,
as if he had never been taught
that grace and charm
are companions, arm-in-arm.
It was many years after `56,
and perhaps his memory
played him tricks in the heat,
but it was my misfortune to meet
a veteran of that campaign.
I think he hoped he would not see
the likes of me again.
(c)John Holt 13-AUG-1998
YOKOHAMA TO PINANG
Steaming down from Yokohama
cruising in to Hong Kong bay,
sailing on to Pinang island
we made fifteen knots a day.
Butterflies as large as soup plates
landed on the upper deck,
covered it in many colors
draped the rails in rainbow-check
We swept the bodies into water
watched the bright gauze floating down,
we did not think of it as slaughter
and our faces wore no frown
Slowly moving then, past Kampong,
Bukit Tambun on our right,
forward lay the island`s capital
glow-worm in the tropic night.
Liberty at George Town beckoned
down the steps we jumped and scattered,
life was good and we all reckoned
having fun was all that mattered.
ŠJohn Holt 14-AUG-1998
PASSENGER LOST
In all the pattern
of those weeks at sea
you caught my heart
you captured me;
but as we said farewell
at Singapore
I watched our love
receding on that shore.
Such hope was always
bound to die,
marooned on the rocks
of that goodbye.
(c)John Holt 14-AUG-1998
