This beautiful photo was taken by Jane Carson and she has very kindly given me permission to write a poem to accompany it.

My father was a sailor,

And one day he set to sea,

It seemed he’d fallen out of love,

With both my mum and me.

He left us broken-hearted,

For we truly loved that man,

So each day I’d go and search for him,

As only the desperate can.

I’d sit for hour on hour,

On the decking by the shore,

And dream of our reunion,

And the life we’d led before.

The years flew by and gradually

My expectations changed,

And somehow my emotions

Were revised and rearranged.

So now when I gaze out to sea,

It’s not of him I think,

And there’s no raw emotion

From which to hide or shrink…

No, that enormous ocean

Spells romance and mystery,

And, at last, above all else

Goodbye to history. 

© Text Caro Ness 2016

© Image Jane Carson