SHIP AWAITS

Unto Koskela(1908-1934)

Black ship awaits us

gunwale clanking against the pier.

Winds wail in the rigging,

fog falls clammy on the sails.

Hoarse to the roof of the tavern

drunken laugh bounds.

Lips suck a lewd kiss.

-- God help, lads, ship awaits!

Empty the glasses. The last kiss.

Ahead is the Great Sailing,

death as the coxswain,

end of the road hell and damnation.

Black ship awaits us.

Fog clings to its sails.

Ghosts wail in the cabin.

Gunwale clanks against the damp pier.

[Laiva odottaa; Purjeet tuulessa(1930).]

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