Sailor In A Storm Poem by Charl JF Cilliers

Here where I languish
in the ship-board monotonous whine
of winches and anguish,

the lowering storm-cloud
through which the sun cannot shine
draped over me like a shroud,

I dream of evenings by a fire,
comfortable silences, a glass of wine
kindling almost-forgotten desire.

But here I am now as far away
from you as star-shine
on many a night that has slipped into day

in silences, with nothing left to say,
searching those fire-lit images for a sign,
in face or gesture, that ever invited me to stay.