A GERMAN SAILOR’S POEM
There are no roses on a sailor’s grave,
No lilacs on an ocean wave,
The only tribute is a seagull’s sweep,
And the teardrops that their sweetheart’s weep.
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A GERMAN SAILOR’S POEM
There are no roses on a sailor’s grave,
No lilacs on an ocean wave,
The only tribute is a seagull’s sweep,
And the teardrops that their sweetheart’s weep.
div>
War is the terrorism of the rich... Terrorism is the war of the poor. - Peter Ustinov
Thanks for all the feedback, and the epitaph!
The report can now be viewed on my site here. A regular 'location report' and a bigger gallery will follow very shortly.
Amazing Snappel. I went to see this after the museum had closed and stood outside the perimeter fence and gazed at what seemed to be a rust bucket.
An amazing set of pictures on the interior!!
That is a most fitting epitaph Miguel and appreciated by a retired Officer in the Royal Navy. Thank you.
Hi Snappel
Excellent pictures and report, Snappel. You also helped inspire a poem. See below.
Chris
***************
Not a whale
-- not exactly:
some might say
a shark or wolf
comes to mind
more -- and blood-
red swastika flags;
for the water laps
languid at Birkenhead
where a rusted U-Boat lies:
Kriegsmarine U-534
sits dry above a dock,
a predator at bay:
a beached whale.
Christopher T. George
Snappel, if you don't mind I am posting this poem on a few poetry sites and crediting you, giving the http://www.level-two.co.uk/u534.php website address also. If you have any objection to same, I can remove the images there. Let me know.
Christopher T. George
Editor, Ripperologist
Editor, Loch Raven Review
http://christophertgeorge.blogspot.com/
Chris on Flickr and on MySpace
Too sleek to be a whale Chris, but the words to the poem, inspired are sleek and meaningful to me. Thanks.
Excellent Chris, I like it! Worth pointing out though, that even though red swastika flags were carried by the U-boats, most members of the Kriegsmarine were not Nazi's themselves, and in fact many despised them. Speaking out and denouncing Hitler and the regime could, however, lead to unpleasant consequences.
I only point that out in defence of the men who were just (like our own sailors) serving their country, not because it doesn't work in the poem!
Thanks, Steven & Snappel.
Chris
Christopher T. George
Editor, Ripperologist
Editor, Loch Raven Review
http://christophertgeorge.blogspot.com/
Chris on Flickr and on MySpace
Well done Snappel. Great report.
Snappell, I have put a link to this thread on the Sailors Home I hope you don't mind. The sites compliment each other rather than being in competition.
You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else.
Winston Churchill
I don't mind at all. The more people who find it interesting the better!
Snappel you have done a great job, there was never much room in those
Subs, i was a seaman most of my working life, but i don"t think i would have the guts to sail in them.
Snappel I haven,t as yet read your report but will later, but I find the photos of the u boat brilliant. There is a neighbour of mine who was in the subs during the war and his wish is to go and see this u boat at Birkenhead. Unfortunately the poor old chap is unsteady on his feet and has undergone surgery for cancer and will never get up to see the u boat. With your permission I will print them out and take them round to his home so the old chap can see a glimpse of the inside of it.
Cheers
Yes yes, by all means print them. If they won't print to a decent resolution I'll do some A4 on a colour laser and send them to you/him free of charge.
One of the reasons I really wanted to get in there was to take a set of half-decent interior shots. The more people who enjoy them, the more worthwhile it made the whole 'operation'!!
Thanks Snappel, just read your report, very good. Sometimes it,s just as well we read about the other side,s stories, could make us feel human .
Thank you again for your permission, Frank will be pleased.
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