Ian Caws
Sealed Orders
‘There were too many crew changes’, said one,
‘All that and being under sealed orders’.
After some years they spoke of it again,
Through the window saw hemlines rise and fall
And newspapers fail from lack of readers.
‘Submariners know - something you can feel’.
Their photographs did not recognise them
Fifty years after the inquiry sat,
But in each mind their shipmates stayed the same,
Though fish ignored their corpses, still off course.
The other saw a space and left his seat,
Brought back fresh beer and old thoughts on the case.
They had been left on the jetty and watched
An overloaded boat put out. Whispers
In the mess said their evidence was scratched
From the transcript. So they noticed their skin
Growing rougher, cars change shape, as the years
Stretched silence between the words and their scorn.
Compass failure was the Navy’s verdict,
Though the artificer, like them, was left
On shore. To mark the loss, sea water licked
Wreaths one day above the wreck; prayers floated
For the padre and sun shone fore and aft.
But the families were not invited.
Page(s) 16
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