the boats were long and black

secret weapons

when i ducked through the sail door

i could smell the Atlantic or the Baltic or the Mediterranean

inside, the air was different

artificial, clean and pure

but for the smells of a hundred men

living there for months at sea

there is little time for idle talk

these men will soon fly home

a new crew will take their places

we must prepare the boat

for another patrol carrying its load

of nuclear death under secret waters

so that the Communists don’t sleep well at night

and keep their fingers

away from that button

10/12/18 LV
Copyright Michael Douglas Scott