Thomas Pardue

US Army

Last Voyage

Proudly sailed I, this sea of life

Relying on Hope, as my guiding Star

Heaving in grandeur; Pitched in strife

As Gales beset the mainsail spar.

I've tacked every Bay, I've charted each Cay

From the Caribbean's deep blue Sea

To the Aegean, the Black and the North,

The Ionian ….the Zuider Zee.

No matter what gloom besieged my plight,

Or what trouble roiled the sea,

Could always head home deep in the night,

The Star of Hope…beckoning me.

Oh…the Sovereignty of sailing!,

Its might!…Its power!… It sets me free!

Replaces the pall of life's failing

With exhilarating epiphany.

In quieter moments, the memories came

Of my Love joining me at sea

Of sea breezes whispering her name

Serenading passion's rhapsody

But all life is to be found fleeting

In time, even she had to go

The agony of her receding

Still anguishes my heart so

And now, it befalls my destiny

To alone, sail the Seven Seas;

A broken heart and weakened mast

Charts a perilous course for me.

To master this voyage and return intact,

I must turn my back to the gale;

Setting my keel to that star's track,

I must perfectly set the sail.

But, should I choose another star,

Destiny foreshadows unsure;

Upon such shoals and treacherous bar,

Pile remnants of prey to such lure.

So, I'll hoist my sail, eyes to the star,

Though my heart 'tis left behind;

The route is clear, but my vision I fear,

Obscured by a reef in my mind.

Then suddenly, in panic, I awaken

Finding darkness in every sky!

Nay a glimmer from the Hope I take in,

Only brewing storms fill my eye.

Rolled in its heave, tossed in its throw,

I prayed for a glimpse of that star;

Gone was She, my beacon oh Hope,

Her radiance, guiding no more.

Gone, the hope that guided my life!

Gone, the dreams with beautiful flair!

And in their place! Fixed at my side…

Anguish, Pity, Sorrow, Despair!

Now, deprived of that life so free

Though I mastered waters of every kind;

Now, twixt me and the joy of the sea,

Lay the reef implanted by my mind!

So, I lie here, full of longing,

Surveying a beckoning sea,

Lusting to launch on seas foaming

But my future's entombed by me.

How did I arrive at this impasse?

When did the reef start to grow?

Where's the solace in its beauty?

Why must it shackle me so?

When did this reef first appear?

Was it the day, she chose to go?

I remember her smile … and that last tear

And the way I clutched her so!

A love so rich, I'll not see again;

Such joy is gone, passed as it must

Along with soft touches caressing skin

Ahead…nothing more...but gray days and dusk.

I spend my days alone…adrift,

My keel grinding sand and shell,

Fearing I'll be marooned forever,

Bound on this island in hell.

The sails have all been lowered;

Lapping waves interrupt the lull;

A tear slowly wells and spills over

For a once mighty ship now rotting at its hull.

By Tom Pardue

© Copyright August 1, 2004

Inspired from "Safe Harbor" by ******************* (Woody)

Dedicated to: *******************: a patriot, a poet, but most of all a friend.