The Wreck of the Halberdier

Published in The Lee Rail, Moss Landing, CA - July 2001

Through the shrouds, the Waimea wind is howling like a dirge,

And in the shelter of the harbor the chop has built deck high.

The mooring lines are stretched taut as the lips on the captain’s face,

Lamenting with each new gust of wind more strongly than the last.

The Halberdier will meet her end, if she gets into the rocks.

The captain stands on shore, leaning against the gale,

And silently repeats a sailor’s prayer of redemption.

The crews of nearby vessels force their eyes away and hold their breaths,

While checking again that their own moorings are secure.

The Halberdier may lose her bottom on the rocks.

She slowly dips and leans into a deeper swell,

As a squall adds to the tempest.

Her for’d line parts, with a crack heard through the din,

And felt by every man and boy in every cabin in the harbor.

The Halberdier is lost, they fear, out there upon the rocks.

The captain turns and walks ashore; He cannot watch the finish.

No mere thing, the Halberdier, his love and home, is lost.

The wooden planks meet solid stone with grim determination,

But give way as they must to keep the laws of nature.

The Halberdier is on her bottom on the rocks.

The Halberdier rests calm, her bow against the shore,

Her stern still tied firmly to the bollards.

The tide floods in, her decks awash; the sea has claimed its due.

A pair of crabs sits in the wheelhouse and mans the starboard watch.

The Halberdier has lost her bottom on the rocks.

Should you stay in Kawaihae harbor during the season of Waimea winds,

Anchor well and check your lines again;

Don’t tempt the Gods unkind, Lest you invite the Halberdier’s fate.

The lee shore’s close, it’s jagged jaws await

Those that would join the Halberdier’s bones there upon the rocks.

Note: The Waimea winds in Kawaihae harbor are a real phenomenon. In a picture of the Golden Vanity enduring a Waimea wind, the short mast of the Halberdier, and the bollards to which she was tied can be seen in the background. The picture was taken in 1969 or 1970.