This beautiful photo was taken by Jane Carson and she has very kindly given me permission to write a poem to accompany it.
My father was a sailor,
And one day he set to sea,
It seemed he’d fallen out of love,
With both my mum and me.
He left us broken-hearted,
For we truly loved that man,
So each day I’d go and search for him,
As only the desperate can.
I’d sit for hour on hour,
On the decking by the shore,
And dream of our reunion,
And the life we’d led before.
The years flew by and gradually
My expectations changed,
And somehow my emotions
Were revised and rearranged.
So now when I gaze out to sea,
It’s not of him I think,
And there’s no raw emotion
From which to hide or shrink…
No, that enormous ocean
Spells romance and mystery,
And, at last, above all else
Goodbye to history.
© Text Caro Ness 2016
© Image Jane Carson
Caro Field Author 
Wow Caro, I love this poem. It is so wonderful to think that this photo inspired these fabulous words. Thank you so much!
So well written, I can feel both sides because the sea has always called to me, come, come. I have, after many years found a way to have both family and the sea. living by the sea is of course different than sailing on it but it does smooth the wonder-lust in these old bones. Thanks for sharing, the poem is also a work of art and goes oh so well with the pictures.
Thanks so much William. I didn’t want the reader to condemn the sailor but I also wanted the reader to feel the heartbreak of those left behind. From what you say, it seems like I succeeded