Deckhand Among These Men of Death

The captain slept and God kept
Himself to himself.
Old salt on deck was humming

Monotonously,
Here is life and there is death,
And in between is dying.
I'm tired of life, fine with death,

But dying's terrifying.
Over and over
He hummed these lines while dozing,

And the deck rocked quietly
Under him, the clouds
Transformed themselves over him,
But he could not float away.