In Blazing Oceans

A lonesome freighter
Daring the naval blockade
On course to Great Britain
Lending invaluable aid
About to round Cape of Good Hope
Steady cruising hulk
Ferrying unstable cargo
Hazardous liquid bulk.

Drifted away from its convoy
No longer secured
The skipper's taking precautions
Mariners on high alert
Dangerous waters
Rumors of wolf-packs
Double the watch
All hands on deck.

Beneath the surface
Unchallenged, unseen
Nearing silently
The dreaded submarine
Ready for combat
Undetected machine
All stations standby
Increasing sunken GRT.

Engines stopped
Boat lying still
Periscope view
In for the kill
Target set
Unknowing tanker
Torpedoes launched
Angriff, Ran, Versenken.

Fatal impact
Rupturing holds
Thunderous detonation
Igniting black gold
Fractured carrier
Spewing burning oil
Doomed, helpless sailors
The ocean starts to boil.

Along with their ship
They all went down
Perished in the blaze
Choked, scorched, drowned
Unsung seafarers
Hideous deaths
Endlessly enshrined
By remote, obscure depths.