1919

The Camera Eye (36)

when we emptied the rosies to leeward over the side every night after the last inspection we’d stop for a moment’s gulp of the November gale the lash of spray in back of your ears for a look at the spume splintered off the leaping waves shipwreckers drowners of men (in their great purple floating mines rose and fell gently submarines travelled under them on an even keel) to glance at the sky veiled with scud to take our hands off the greasy handles of the cans full of slum they couldnt eat (nine meals nine dumpings of the leftover grub nine cussingmatches with the cockney steward who tried to hold out on the stewed apricots inspections AttenSHUN click clack At Ease shoot the flashlight in everycorner of the tin pans nine lineups along the leaving airless corridor of seasick seascared doughboys with their messkits in their hands)

Hay sojer tell me they’ve signed an armistice tell me the wars over they’re takin us home latrine talk the hell you say now I’ll tell one we were already leading the empty rosies down three flights of iron ladders into the heaving retching hold starting up with the full whenever the ship rolled a little slum would trickle out the side