Bosun and rigger below decks,

Sharing caddy of Assam tea,

South, Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties;

Discovery yaws more violently,

Storm-force wind bares its teeth.

“All hands on deck,” the order.

“Starboard tack, hold position”.

Rifle-crack of wooden beams -

Adrenalin, fear, sense of duty -

Rum ration, pemmican, disorientation

Prompting nausea, projectile vomit.

On deck, Force 10, bullets of rain

Rip into faces; first sighting

Of cavernous iceberg.

Choking salty spray, light fading

To inky veil of darkness.

Lone albatross glides by,

Portending peril.