the day of reckoning

The Day Of reckoning


It rained when I went ashore, miserable, grey drizzle
lasting for days making people indoor pale and righteous.
Met a woman in a pub, she had a tarts fallen face, which
made her interesting, most of her had fallen too, but
dressed in black she looked ok and she lived just around
the corner… In her cups she was frivolous and we did
things I had only read about in books, thought she was
wonderful asked her to marry me. It was afternoon, next
day and still drizzly, when I went down to the docks, my
ship had left, my suitcase packed, just as well the thought
of sailing on a winter ocean in the company of gossiping
Norwegian seafarers and their narrow minded ship world,
was a sacrifice I needn’t carry.. Pessimistically sober now
I winced at the thought of going back to the quiche in black,
booked into a hotel and went to bed with a bottle of rum