Oh, my dear little sailor boy

You were conceived on the cigarette-butt littered floor of the aftermath of a sad party
Given birth in the grey-sheeted sweat-stained bed of a back room in nowhere town
Fed from a tired empty breast and then later, on the seeds I scavenged from the bird table
I fought hard, ignoring the pecks of the jays. They always went for my pale blue eyes,
thinking them eggs, to be buried in the nest, that one day would give birth to the sea

Oh, my dear little sailor boy
You were meant to explore the seven oceans and give your name to undiscovered cities
Oh, my dear little sailor boy
You were meant to reshape the world with your strong hands into the wonders of the future

You were destined, you have my pale blue eyes
You were set aside and marked with the hope of the universe

But somewhere along the way towards beauty, you took a wrong turn down a back alley
Stumbled over empty bottles of sleepless nights and pricked yourself with dirty needles
They led you further into the darkness of neverland to the empty back streets of your mind
Where you would never grow old
but would die every day

Oh, my dear little sailor boy
Oh, my dear little sailor boy
The jays have stolen your pale blue eyes and left glass marbles in their place
They stare unseeing into the rain-heavy skies that cover this wasteland.

You cannot see your weeping mother as she approaches, gleaming knife in hand
You do not see the rich blood, that should have spawned a nation, running into the gutter

Oh, my dead little sailor boy
Please forgive a mother´s love.
As I gave, so I took away
No one else could have destroyed you;
No one else could have saved you;
No one else would have loved you

---

Paul Carpenter is from the UK but lives in Spain. He writes poetry, short stories, and drama. He is currently working on a translation of his poetry into Spanish. Recently, his work has been published by Close to the Bone and Hedge Apple magazines. A new piece will be published online by Suddenly, and without warning, in February.