Love Of Captain And Crew. Poem by James Putnam

Love of captain and crew.

Now the captain of a battered sail boat, with no sails adrift the open seas.
Afloat rocky waters, under cloudy skies, no stares nor compass to guide me.

The journey was to start easy enough on a beautiful sunny day.
Departing from Lovers port, nestled in Marriage bay.

A worthy vessel of 96 feet, she was christened the Putnham.
She was fashioned by two carpenters, one women and one man.

With a bow still damp of Champaign, on unknown waters they set sail.
Man agents the sea only god, know who would avail.

Experienced seamen afloat the boat they had built, crew of two captain and first mate.
Sailing off on their madden voyage a journey they could not anticipate.

With no real charted course nor care we sailed to destinations unknown.
Six and a half years would show how strong the sailing two had grown.

By the second year of sailing the team of two had come to be an entity of one.
The sails and wheal were tended fluently, no need for spoken word they easily sailed on.

Though casually it started in playful friendship there partnership had begun.
The sea and voyage had nurtured two broken soles to become a singular sole of one.

The journey had given birth to a love deeper than the foamy blue.
A beautiful love, mad and passionate shared the sailing two.

Porting only to restock the Putnham the sea became there home.
Together and the sea they were to never feel alone.

Rocked to sleep by the sea many nights embraced in the captain's arms.
Drifting off to slumber after long and slow lovemaking underneath the stars.

Written like a romantic love sonnet there was passion known by seldom few.
A romance for the ages was the love of captain and his crew.

Together for the next four years in love they would sail.
Storms would come and rock the boat but the Putnham and crew would prevail.

It was in the 6th year of their time at sea cap and crew would be tested agents the sailor's creed.
Don't give up the ship is how the last line reads.

The sky was red, darkening and the seas began to swell.
The Putnham and crew were in for stormy hell.

The storms of hurricanes would rage for four unrelenting months.
Crew and vessel would be thrown and hit by every crashing front.

The ship creaked and moaned agents the fury of the storm.
The spirit of the captain and crew grow weary and forlorn.

It was on the fateful evening ofstormy July night,
That first mate Lainy lost the will to fight.

Amidst the valley of the falling hall,
and in the flashing light eliminating tattered sails.

In the chaos of the storm her will had broken.
Saying softly I love you always she dove in to the ocean.

With heart ache in fear and pain broken the captain cried.
He fell to his knees screaming I'm all alone now how could you and why?

The captain tied off the wheel, and with yaw line around his neck claimed the mast.
Took a step forward, falling towards the deck remembering the good times of the past.

With a broken heart and no will to live the caption yarned to die.
The clouds parted and the sun shined down on the deck wear the captain lie.

In great pain and a pounding in his head, the captain came to and realized he was not among the dead.

The Putnham had survived the storms, the rope had broken and the captain was alive.
Captain Jim was left adrift alone with no first mate by his side.

Jim was left with only memories of the journey and the love he had lost.
Cap would rebuild his ship and sail again though on his soul it was great coast.

Rechristening his vessel to be the Lainy love.
Cap would sail on in search of the next first mate he'd been dreaming of.

In loving memory of our
Marriage and love.
January 2014/ July 2018.
JAMES PUTNAM