The Boatswain
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Maximilian Pacella, Grade 12, Sydney Grammar School
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Poetry
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2015
Excellence Award in the 'The Write Track 2015' competition
The boatswain toils beneath misty veils,
Below ragged skies and tattered sails,
Each day begrudgingly mending the seams
Between his foul sleep and most haunted dreams.
The moon beams in its crooked countenance,
Its milky shadows pervading tepid night:
And now they ordain him, “ocean’s eremite”.
Once the aching waves roared and spat a tremulous wheeze,
Corrupting the once gentle touch of each salted breeze.
Now he drinks to keep the wailing, drowned demons at bay-
To hide his eternal Hangman, far beneath the spray.
He will walk along the beach, counting the fall
Of each grain of sand, hearing each siren’s call.
Now he reeks of spoilt rum, of pain and foul cologne.
The boatswain sighs, and sets sail.
He has drowned. He is alone.