The Great Battleship

28 September 2009
By: Noel N. Villarosa
(Rhyme Form)


Once sailed as the lumbering hulks of the high seas
Fierce winds accompanied most of its expedition
Woozy and exhausted crews grappled the oars and crosstrees
With smoothbore and muzzle-loading guns geared up for a mission

The tall vertical spar supporting aloft the white canvas
Stretched out to catch the invisible strength of the wind
The ship’s keel watching the sea-bed at its vast
Emerged gradually from the water to meet the enemy lines

Whizzing salvo of the battle began off the island
Ships clashed and soldiers engaged in a fight
Dead bodies slammed and the injured crossed to near land
Hear leaves without figs crushed to the ground

Ship ahoy! Shouted by villagers as they waited eagerly
Slowly ship emerged with the image of heavy wreckage
Wounded and exhausted crews embraced their family
Another saga of brave men printed in book’s page

As plaintive music now played on air
Tattoo beats called soldiers back to barracks
From bow to stern, ships respite from war
Is a short-lived fashion from majestic into rugs

For chieftains, captains, and crews laid beneath the ocean
Their remains rested in their sunken ship as their grave
Great battleships are now a history and ordain
Shipwrecks underneath the sea untouched and remained a treasure
Let in children’s cry slowly clear the fogs of war
And hail farewell to brave men who once sailed with the great battleship of all times.

Posted in: Voicesnet.com
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