DEVILS THAT HE NEVER SAW

THOSE DEVILS THAT HE NEVER SAW

He couldn't sleep at nights, my dad
For fear of submarines
They'd glide through his sub-consciousness
Torpedoing his dreams
It frightened him for six long years
Their presence there below
On every sea and ocean
Over every wave he'd go

Like devils that he never saw
Like sheepdogs in control
His every thought was monitored
His mind was on parole
Both sun and moon would come and go
And change horizon's look
But all the beauty that was there
Those silent devils took

He's sixty eight today: and had
Another heart attack
And I could see within his eyes
The submarines were back
An ever present torture took-
His life with every breath
Those devils that he never saw
Were present at his death

DAVID SMALL