Becalmed A Sailor's Death By Dehydration Poem by Terence George Craddock

the horizon stretches endless
in this millpond flat salt sea
no thirst quenching water to see
no creaked lip mercy will there be
water stretches to horizon limitless
water laps torments soul endless
water thirst withheld death knell
water denied leaves body lifeless

dehydration a crucifixion humiliation
dry bone dry mouth light headedness
a plague of growth agony muscle craps
mere thirst is but slight 2% dehydrated
eyes stop making tears sweating stops
weakness raked maybe nausea vomiting

body stopped water waste urine output
a dance with death must thirst begin
clammy cool skin confusion dark urine
rapid heart rate weak pulse is death waltz
skin elasticity skin turgor skin stretched
lacking fluids skin cells slow release welts

water stretches everywhere salt has no mercy
water salt water drunk increases dehydration
body tries to maintain critical cardiac output
a minimum amount of blood pumped by heart
to the body to maintain life soul in body dust
the amount of fluid in the intravascular space

is decreased your body compensates for this
decrease by increasing the heart rate making
blood vessels constrict to try to maintain blood
pressure vital blood flow to your vital organs
the body shunts blood flow away from the skin
to internal organs vital brain heart lungs kidneys

intestines causing the skin to feel cool clammy
alas this coping mechanism begins to death fail
as the level of dehydration fatal fatal increases
rapid heart rate weak pulse is last death waltz
severe dehydration confusion weakness occurs
as the brain main star body organs receive less

blood flow finally coma organ failure then death
only God knows what slow agony you endured
in slow slow agony thirst death slow organ dying
but God watched seemingly indifferent sent no
miracles no taste of mercy water White Albatross
it was not a nice way to die you could not even cry