Sailor's Ballad

 

 

poem in Jambo rhythm (short-long) 

by Ruth Salles

Jambo: v____ (short-long). He works by taking the step forward and willingly. It also helps the overly withdrawn child to expand. It retracts on the short syllable and lets go on the long one. We have underlined the long syllables of the first lines here, for easier understanding.

 

NAVIGATOR'S BALLAD

In yourThe ship, sawow to the sea
O atseegaon to atseegar.
As far as the eye can see,
the wave always rolls gently.
“What a blue sky… What a light breeze…”
And the navigator is more daring.
And hums, and the strong arm
leans to the helm and heads north.

The wind blows and the sail expands.
The land is far, and the sea is large.
The shadow descends… Where does it come from?
The wave stops and the sun hides.
It's low cloud! And it gets dark!
And it's already spread! And it grows, and it grows!
In leaden sky there is a glare,
and a thunderclap is heard.

And in the flash of silver,
the storm breaks out.
The navigator then shuts up,
and creaks the ship and now it crackles.
– Keep the sail, O navigator!
Grab the helm! Forward, forward!
And the wave comes and increases more,
and another one follows soon after.

And the wind hums, and howls, and sings.
And the sea responds and rises.
And the ship rises in a second
and it already slips into a deep valley,
and goes up and down, without stopping,
and groans and creaks, rocking.
“Lord my God, I have lost my north!
Tame, tame the strong wind!”

The navigator chants the prayer,
and the wind comes back and cools.
The blue patch in the sky spreads out
and shows the slender beach in the distance.
The port is close, the sea is calm,
and the navigator finally rests.
And, hoisting the sail in the gentle wind,
thanking will come…

 

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