“In Ocean waves no poppies blow

No crosses stand in ordered in row,

There young hearts sleep beneath the wave

The spirited, the good, and the brave

But stars a constant vigil keep,

For them who lie beneath the deep,

‘Tis true you cannot kneel in prayer

On a certain spot and think he’s there

But you can to the ocean go

See whitecaps marching row on row;

Know one for him will always ride,

In and out with every tide

And when your span of life is passed

He’ll meet you at the ‘Captain’s Mast’

And they who mourn on distant shore,

For sailors who will come home no more

Can dry their tears and pray for these

Who rest beneath the heaving seas,

For stars that shine and winds that blow

And whitecaps marching row on row

And they can never lonely be,

For when they lived, they choose the sea.”

Eileen Mahoney