Salute To Sailor Town Poem by Cicely Fox Smith

The little streets of Sailor Town
They are not fair nor fine,
That straggle with their sooty slates
By Mersey, Thames and Tyne,
By Humber and by Severn sea,
From Hull to Solent side,
The little streets of Sailor Town -
The shabby streets of Sailor Town
That know not wealth nor pride.

The little streets of Sailor Town
This day they mourn their dead
That give their lives in death-sewn seas
To bring a people bread;
No day that adds not to the tale
Of those that come no more
To little homes in Sailor Town
In grimy streets of Sailor Town
That suffer and endure.

The little streets of Sailor Town
They are not rich nor grand,
But death and glory walk this day
Their pavement hand in hand.
Come fire, come steel - they cannot break
The courage proud and high
Of humble folk in Sailor Town
In little streets of Sailor Town
In gallant streets of Sailor Town
That know the way to die.