The Widow’s Watch Poem by Amera Andersen

‘twas a moondim night on the widow’s watch
for counting the days you had gone to sea
on the railing I carved a tiny notch
as if the scars, would bring you back to me

the albatross sings, I turn a deaf ear
as petticoats rustle in the sea breeze
the ocean will claim you, ‘tis this I fear
my mind screams a silent “O darling, please”

then in the dim light, I spy a small ship
out o’er the horizon appears a sail
I burst to the stairway lest I should slip
and ran to the docks my skirt in a trail

as the ship pulled in you smiled at me
I hugged you so tight, my man from the sea


Author notes
Widow’s Watch or Widow’s Walk is a railed rooftop platform, typically on a coastal house, originally designed to observe vessels at sea. The name comes from the wives of mariners who would watch for their spouses to return from the sea.

Albatross: is a sea bird that superstitious sailors feel the cry means bad luck or death.

Sonnet

Sonnets are formal poems and consist of 14 lines (3 quatrains and a couplet) , traditionally written in iambic pentameter - that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable.