The Lonely Sailor

In the quiet, peaceful harbor,

The mighty warship lay;

Two thousand men aboard her

On a tradewind Saturday.

~

The captain gave an order clear

So all aboard could hear:

"Now men, God knows when we may sail,

So have fun while you're here."

~

"The city lies beyond the hills,

So drink your fill of beer;

The girls will treat you fondly there

And fill your hearts with cheer."

~

So, laughing, shouting wildly then

To Hotel Street they sped;

Except for one lonely sailor

Who walked alone instead.

~

The stars above the water deep

Shone brightly in the night;

The silver beach beneath his feet

Was bathed in full-moon light.

~

The wind was clean and cool that night

And blowing from the sea;

No others walked the beach that night

For as far as he could see.

~

Alone he watched the rolling waves

Wash upon the shore;

Until he heard a sweet voice say,

"They flow forevermore."

~

Her hair fell round her shoulders like

A moonlit waterfall;

He looked into her dark brown eyes,

And felt them pierce his soul.

~

The fragrance from her maile lei

Was sweet like leaves in fall;

The only sound that he could hear -

A distant seabird's call.

~

She asked him how he came to be

All alone in Waikiki;

A quiet reply was all he made,

"Because I love the sea."

~

They talked, and laughed, a long while then,

Til far into the night;

He'd never met a girl like her,

Who made him feel so right.

~

Too soon, it seemed to him, came time

For him to bid farewell;

The last bus back to base that night

Would leave the midnight knell.

~

He turned to leave, but could not bring

Himself to say goodbye.

She lightly touched her lips to his;

A tear fell from her eye.

~

So he returned that Sunday morning

To the harbor they call Pearl;

To a battleship named Arizona,

To dream of a dark-haired girl.

~

The urgent call to quarters came

At fifty-five past seven,

As mighty airplane engines roared

Throughout the hills of heaven.

~

The great explosions came before

The sailor could reach the deck;

The burning metal pierced his side,

And blood ran down his neck.

~

But he did not smell the smoke of war,

Or hear his comrades fall;

But smelled the fragrance of a maile lei,

And heard a seabird call.

~

And he did not feel his wounded side,

Or the fire beneath his hips;

Instead, he felt the light, light touch

Of her tender lips.

© 1988 -- Bobby Norris Harmon

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For a moving, first-hand account of these historic times, read “A Porthole View of Hawaii,” by Robert Kronberger, which can be found on the website: The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.

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