Rib Of Steel Poem by Gordon D Wilkinson

Broken ribs of steel
All that’s left on the keel
Stripped bare by ferocity of the sea
A mere shell of what used to be
Once a greyhound in grey
Battered by shells to its dismay
Into battle strong and gallantly they went
Anger on other battle cruisers to vent
Cornered so far from its liar
Finished off as the sky grew greyer
Crumpled decks and twisted guns
The way life sometimes defeated runs
Sailors abandoned her just it time
Ripped apart in her prime
As the wave closed above
Defeated by another’s iron glove
Silence and solitude now her grave
Littered on coral its armour to pave
Time will take and break her heart
Buried in silt nevermore to start