Gulls And Other Birds. Poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

As we left harbour seagulls and their mewling followed
us for a few hours, then they slowly disappeared and we
were in a world of floating iron with cargo in the ship´s
hold for some faraway destination.

We didn´t hear the sound of the engine, only when
it stopped in the middle of the ocean, we could hear
the sea slapping against the hull, an uneasy silence
till the engine came back to life.

Miles away when we neared the port of our destination
we were met by mewling seagulls, when they saw the man
or boy, with a dirty apron and a bucket of leftovers, their
shrieks intensified... the masses angry demand.

At night tarns dressed up as tarts sat in bars and charmed,
but we only knew that when they laughed too hard.