U-boat nerves
Curse this tin we're trapped in,
Damn these metal walls,
I observe the Captain,
From work he won’t pause
Till victory is gained at sea
To help the Nazi cause.
I was a believer,
None loved Hitler more
Until cabin fever
Gripped my nerves and bore
Into my head and now I dread
Each passing day of war.
Claustrophobic feeling,
Tension makes me sweat,
Steel hatch, floor and ceiling
Dominate and yet
Sometimes at night in dreams I sight
The home I can’t forget.
If a depth charge follows
Then hits our machine
As the ocean swallows,
Sinking the machine
With fear I’ll dwell pulled down to hell
Chained to a submarine.
Heading for collision,
In the dark we’ll grope,
What use then the vision
Of the periscope?
The seabed rocks will smash this box
And shatter every hope.
©