Before The Mast Poem by R.M. Wright

Here I wait, cold and alone.
The hour is near, the time nigh
Tonight I simply die.

Innocence long past
Guilty I am before the mast
Harm that girl never did I touch.

The sting of the salty spray
The heave and the thrust
The ship settles now as I stand.

The master chief looks me up and down
The callousness in his steel eyes
The rope he cinches tight.

“He’s ready, ” he shouts in cool night air
The Cap’n, he just stares
The rest of the crew bow their heads as one.

The Chaplain touches me once
He whispers in my ear
“For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”
The time draws near.

With a heave and a thrust
They lift me high
For tonight, I simply die.