Daily Archives: January 23, 2016

The Ship

The Ship

By David “Mac” McAllister

 

There’s a ship,

out upon the sea.

A ship of dreams;

laden with memories.

I know not its name;

but she calls to me.

Yester year’s shipmates,

feats and glories

 

A ship residing

of Spirit and Mind.

Crewed by Shipmates

I know all so well.

Sailing on pristine waters,

the perfect kind

Sailors I’ve sailed with

through peace and hell

 

Gladly again

I’d man her rails.

serving through waters;

calm and gale.

For we were the best

of the best of our day

No matter on liberty or

while in harm’s way.

 

Proudly serving

on the razor’s edge.

Duty, honor, country

our pledge

Forward and onward,

never looking back

For we were the best of the best

out in the Westpac

 

David “Mac” McAllister a native of California, now resides in the Ozark Mountains of Southwest Mo. Having served in Asia for the majority of his 24 year Navy career, he now divides his time as an over the road trucker, volunteer for local veteran repatriation events and as an Asia Sailor Westpac’rs Association board member and reunion coordinator. In his spare time he enjoys writing about his experiences in Westpac and sharing them online with his Shipmates.
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Once More

Once More

By: Garland Davis

 

Once more on the far Pacific Rim is all I’m asking,

Just a feeling I’m again wanting to know,

It’s a time and place where my memory is walking,

It’s that world where I’m longing to go.

 

How I loved the old ships that plied those waters,

How they make this old heart remember with joy,

They’re the light in an ocean of darkness,

That surrounded all my years as a boy.

 

Now I know all the sadness of the sailor,

Who has gone far from his home on the waves,

Who regrettably knows he can never return there,

For the ships of his youth lie in their watery graves.

 

How I wish my spirit could ever wander,

In those ships and seas that were first and last,

In my memory of things I cherish,

Let me live with the sea and ships of my past.

 

To follow Tales of an Asia Sailor and get e-mail notifications of new posts, click on the three white lines in the red rectangle above, then click on the follow button.

 

A native of North Carolina, Garland Davis has lived in Hawaii since 1987. He always had a penchant for writing but did not seriously pursue it until recently. He is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, where he majored in Business Management. Garland is a thirty-year Navy retiree and service-connected Disabled Veteran.

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Home-again

Home-again

By: Garland Davis

 

In the distance sea birds fly toward the far shore,

Above the bay and beach through the mist majestic Fuji-san,

As numerous ships and fishing boats ply Tokyo Wan

From above hidden nests Cherry Blossoms drop quietly

On those that rest on limbs outstretched above the stream

This scene is real, a paradise, not a wild dream.

Go with me there, to the land of home-again,

Where we will quietly and slowly regain

Perspective for the years that yet remain

 

To follow Tales of an Asia Sailor and get e-mail notifications of new posts, click on the three white lines in the red rectangle above, then click on the follow button.

 

A native of North Carolina, Garland Davis has lived in Hawaii since 1987. He always had a penchant for writing but did not seriously pursue it until recently. He is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, where he majored in Business Management. Garland is a thirty-year Navy retiree and service-connected Disabled Veteran.

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Old Sailors

Old Sailors

By:  Garland Davis

 

A walk through the old ship before she goes to the breakers,

A single white hat hangs from a hook on a locker door,

In tribute to a sailor’s sweated brow,

And a thousand times he swabbed that deck all scuffed now,

A pair of boon dockers left behind a locker door,

As if they are ready to walk these decks once more,

Shoes that left footprints that we dared to walk on,

But now, all the old sailors are gone.

 

To follow Tales of an Asia Sailor and get e-mail notifications of new posts, click on the three white lines in the red rectangle above, then click on the follow button.

 

A native of North Carolina, Garland Davis has lived in Hawaii since 1987. He always had a penchant for writing but did not seriously pursue it until recently. He is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, where he majored in Business Management. Garland is a thirty-year Navy retiree and service-connected Disabled Veteran.

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Branson

Branson

By: Garland Davis

The pious Christian will tell you that his exemplary life will lead to Heaven,

The Sunday Christian hopes that his pretense at being pious keeps him from Hell,

The non-believer says that the chances of either existing are even,

The Devil worshiper dreams of an eternity with his like down Satan’s well,

A sailor knows that somewhere beneath the waves lies Davy Jones’ Locker,

And a future with old shipmates at Fiddler’s Green beats the hell out of, well, Hell

But those of us who served on the Far East Station steaming old worn out iron,

Know that, in the end, all good Asia Sailors go to the reunion at Branson.

 

To follow Tales of an Asia Sailor and get e-mail notifications of new posts, click on the three white lines in the red rectangle above, then click on the follow button.

 

A native of North Carolina, Garland Davis has lived in Hawaii since 1987. He always had a penchant for writing but did not seriously pursue it until recently. He is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, where he majored in Business Management. Garland is a thirty-year Navy retiree and service-connected Disabled Veteran.

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