It was quiet on the night watch
And the time was passing slow,
The old helmsman turned around
To ask the young fellow
“Son, please tell me something
That I’d really like to know…
Have you really loved somebody
Loved her till it hurt?
Burning with the feeling that
Only Death could do you part?
Loved her with a passion
With every beat of your heart?
Have you written a love letter
Like it’s the last one you’d write?
Poured out your feelings
Till the dawn brought the light?
Has your heart ached with longing
From morning till night?”
The young officer looked puzzled
Wondered what brought this on
“Well, I did love someone”,he said
“But then she was..er.. gone
Got a new hottie on Facebook
‘Liked’ her post this morn
I chat with her on GMail
Got her on Viber too
When I ask her,’Wassup’
She replies, ‘Nothin’,dude’
She sends me her selfies
On WhatsApp in the nude!
Who needs love letters, man
I got Tinder on my phone
Can make friends on Match.com
Social networking zone
Follow them on Twitter
And ‘mwah’ them all night long!”
The old man sighed, shook his head
Hadn’t understood a word
Went out to the bridge wing
Not sure what he had heard
Surely the young generation could
Not be this absurd!
“Is that your idea of romance, son?”
He returned inside to say,
“Is this the way to show her
You want her every single day?
You need to express your love for her
In a more romantic way!”
“Nah! No time for letters, old man
They take too damn long
Would rather send her a YouTube clip
Each day a different song
See her on Skype when I’m in bed
And we both sing along!”
The old man looked disappointed
“Is this what it’s going to be?
Is this your bloody idea of
Romance today at sea?
What happened to letters’n’poems carrying
Words that set you free?
Come on, son, don’t give up
I’ve seen you dreamy eyed
I’m sure you’ve had those feelings
That made you tongue tied
You know what completes a man?
His passions bona fide!”
“No, Daddy-o, you got it wrong,
Her words speak to me
Wires’n’cords’n’bytes’n’RAM
Connect us instantly
I see a kindred spirit in her
She’s a romantic like me!
My laptop screen is magical
I gently touch her name
On the warm screen in front of me
Perhaps she does the same
She blows a kiss at me on Skype
Yo, that drives me insane!
One day I’ll hold her in my arms
Our first meeting is due
Till then I’m gonna keep her
Locked away in ICQ
So don’t worry, I’m fine
Need no advice from you!”
The old seaman was flabbergasted
Shook his head and walked away
A girl in every virtual port!
He didn’t know what to say
Wedding bells in cyber churches!
“Hmmph… romance at sea today!”
