Ballad of the Old Sailor

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Oh, the salt and the sting of the wide open sea,
Where the waves are wild, and the heart is free.
With a creak of the mast, and a slap of the sail,
I’d ride with the storm, or drift with the gale.
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I was young once, strong and true,
With a heart that knew what the sea winds knew.
I’ve faced down squalls and skies gone grey,
With a laugh for the dawn and a toast to the day.
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But now I’m old, and my back is bent,
My hands are calloused, my strength near spent.
I watch from the shore as the ships roll by,
And think of my youth with a mist in my eye.
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For there’s magic still in the song of the sea,
A pull in the waves that won’t let me be.
The sailor’s heart knows no age nor rust;
It beats to the tide, with wanderer’s trust.
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So raise a glass to the old salt’s lore,
To the tales of the deep and the far-off shore.
For the sea may change, but sailors stay,
Bound to the ocean till their dying day.

THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL  ex-Liverpool seaman Michael Walsh, regular television, radio and newspaper personality. Bestseller: 70 stories and over 100 pictures. A first-hand account of the British ships, seafarers, adventures and misadventures (1955 – 1975). A tribute to the ships and seamen of the then-largest merchant marine in history. BOOK LINK https://tinyurl.com/3kuja2s5