IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

  My last WestPAC cruise in the Navy was a doozy. Our carrier group went right through center of a hurricane. Actually changed course to meet it head-on. 3 days inbound, 1 day in the eye, then 3 days outbound made for a week that none of us aboard the USS Fort Fisher would ever forget, especially those of us who were Electronic Technicians.

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

"Taps. Taps. Lights out." the call,

But who among any of us could sleep?

Tied to our bunks as the ship rocked and plunged,

Out on the dark, stormy deep.

Was it hubris that brought us to this wayward state,

Or knowledge of what we could do?

Straight through the eye. Were we bound to die?

That's when the call came through.

"Assemble your team. The radar's out.

I'll need you to climb up the mast.

Just flashlights and gear. Am I perfectly clear?

Fix it and fix it fast!"

We hadn't been allowed on the weatherdecks for days,

The sea raging from this typhoon.

Now journeying out in the blackest of night,

With the end not coming too soon.

It took three men to open the watertight door,

Blistering spray then came in with a blast.

Watching the light dim, dogging latch behind,

I thought I had seen my last.

The ship bucked hard as we locked arm in arm,

But all that was heard was the howling.

Just one good blow and over we'd go,

Then probably the screws be a-fouling.

A human chain, man over man, till finding an anchor point,

Shouting directions as we passed.

We clung to each other like we had to no other,

Till finally we ascended the mast.

The right man on the job, I was given a moment,

To soak in this precarious scene;

Feeling storm and waves crashing in the soles of my feet,

But blackness was all that was seen.

Many years have since passed since that trip through hell,

But I still remember our next day bruises,

From gripping so tight with all of our might.

Safe to say, no more whirlwind cruises.

But an analogy is there, for those who dare:

It's good to have someone to cling,

When the storms of life rage in the blackest of night,

You'll be able to sing.

by NAV vet 1995