The Bo`suns Farewell Poem by Richard Anders

The polar night was clear and bright
and icy through and through
the wind was rough but we were tough
and we all had a job to do

We carried him high on our shoulders
over ice and snow and slush
the North wind blew the lightning flew
and the sky was a rosy blush

The nearest land was a mile away
it could well have been sixty or more
but we carried our load to Fort Walter
and laid him at Sweet Marley`s door

Now you can`t dig a hole in the tundra
when its forty or fifty below
and try as you might you could beaver all night
and you`d make a small hole in the snow

'Don`t leave me out while the wolves are about
and don`t put me in the cold sea
I`ll take it real kind if you bear that in mind
and get me a berth on the lea'

Well that put us all in a clove-hitch
there was nowhere to bury our mate
so we carried him high on our shoulders
and laid him at Sweet Marley`s gate

As we said our farewells to the Bo`sun
Sweet Marley was building the pyre
'We can`t leave him out while the wolves are about
so we`ll set the poor beggar on fire! '


R.Price Dec 1998