***
You missed my ship—
I shouted it
into the wind.
Too late now.
The horn sounded
from a distant harbour,
and the sea
took us with it.
Fifteen hundred miles
between me
and home.
Tomorrow
there will be war.
For now,
only silence—
a wide ocean
holding its breath.
And my thoughts
drift back
to where my heart lives.
Then the night
erupts.
Fire in the dark.
Thunder in the sky.
Fear rising
like cold water.
We stand our ground.
Bravery
is often just
fear
wearing a uniform.
The noise—
unbearable.
The horror—
closer
than words allow.
And then
morning.
The guns fall quiet.
The sea
pretends
nothing happened.
Someone laughs.
Someone else
lights a cigarette.
Fifteen hundred miles
from home—
yet love
still finds us.
One day
I sail back.
Home again.
Family waiting.
Familiar streets.
But something
stays behind.
Because not everyone
comes home.
Rows of coffins.
Flags
folded carefully.
A bugle
breaking the silence.
Soft.
Slow.
Tears fall
without permission.
And the question
still drifts
through the wind—
What was given?
What was gained?
By Paul Baldry (LongJohn)
Mar 5
Mar 5, 2026 at 3:39 PM UTC
***
You missed my ship—
I shouted it
into the wind.
Too late now.
The horn sounded
from a distant harbour,
and the sea
took us with it.
Fifteen hundred miles
between me
and home.
Tomorrow
there will be war.
For now,
only silence—
a wide ocean
holding its breath.
And my thoughts
drift back
to where my heart lives.
Then the night
erupts.
Fire in the dark.
Thunder in the sky.
Fear rising
like cold water.
We stand our ground.
Bravery
is often just
fear
wearing a uniform.
The noise—
unbearable.
The horror—
closer
than words allow.
And then
morning.
The guns fall quiet.
The sea
pretends
nothing happened.
Someone laughs.
Someone else
lights a cigarette.
Fifteen hundred miles
from home—
yet love
still finds us.
One day
I sail back.
Home again.
Family waiting.
Familiar streets.
But something
stays behind.
Because not everyone
comes home.
Rows of coffins.
Flags
folded carefully.
A bugle
breaking the silence.
Soft.
Slow.
Tears fall
without permission.
And the question
still drifts
through the wind—
What was given?
What was gained?
By Paul Baldry (LongJohn)
Away From Home reflects the experience of British servicemen during the Falklands War—sailing thousands of miles into uncertainty, facing battle, loss, and courage while their thoughts remained with loved ones waiting far away. I wrote this on a white-sand beach lined with mines between me and the sea, penguins wandering calmly among them—an image I will never forget.
