Baltic Waters Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

They say the Gulf stream seeks to reach
Coasts known since ancient times
Fair waters of the Baltic Sea
To bless with milder climes

The old folks say their sea's a tomb
For craft that failed the tests
Of bloody conflicts ill-conceived
In Vikings' roving breast

Beneath protective mermaid fins
Unblemished shipwrecks rest
Entombed in waters free from worms
Corroding ships due west

Today new warriors still pursue
The thrill of hunt and fray
Exhuming wrecks of bulky craft
Long lost in seafloor clay

Yet people living on those shores
Are much like passive craft
They fish and plant and let things lie
In hulls afore and aft

When treasure hunters glean their fill
The Baltic people pray
To bounteous waters sweet and dear
That oft wash blood away.