For Emmett Schuchardt, USN, 1925 - 2011 Little did I know it was not fifty years in the past When Great Uncle Emmett Lost his hearing - Hearing a shout and alarm, Followed by the whirr of dread adjustment Turning heavy o'er the sea Till the mighty six bowside halted With a mighty clank; And as the sun rose o'er the eastern line A gull-less void prevailed Mere two seconds; then flash, Shake, And pulse That shook the sound from his ears. Not fifty years in the future I arrived Unknowing of the sea And not twenty years more Twas too late to ask her questions.
