Ode to the Battleship
    I am a Queen, A warrior Queen, Queen of the fleet for I am a Battleship. Long Majestic, from my pointed bow to rounded stern. People notice me whenever I pay call to a port, friendly or foe. My heart glows red hot from the fuel oil that powers  my boilers and my blood is superheated steam my engines hum with the smoothness of the finest watch worn by my commander as he paces my steel decks high upon my bridge. He gives the orders to take me out to sea. With my court of honor, Destoryers, cruisers, Submarines all move over for me because I am the Queen of the Battlefleet. I can be silent riding upon the waves held down by my anchor chains that touch the harbor floor, but if my commander gives the order I can lash out with my guns, sharper than the sharpest tongue, I shed power and grace, but I still pay homage to my King, a majestic ship in himself, his cannon now silent except to fire a salute to honor the past. His sails neatly stowed down below as citizens of a greatful nation walk his gun decks. "Old Ironsides" his crew called him way back in his glory days when cannonballs bounced off his sides and his flag so bravely flapped in the salty breeze. Then came VIRGINIA and MONITOR, who dueled for the rivers and ports as men tore our nation asunder and blood flowed like cheap wine. Our nation was saved but many a man and ship slipped below the waves of Rivers and oceans, CAIRO below the muddy river waters in Mississippi and ALABAMA in the wine dark sea off the coast of France with her brave laddies.

    I remember where I came from and how I came about, my crew will never let me forget. 2,500 seamen work and live aboard me, washing the decks and keeping my gray fresh and the guns oiled. There have been others before me, just as proud in their coats of white steaming around the world, "the great white fleet" it was called in it's day. Ships like MAINE, TEXAS, MISSISSIPPI firsts in the line of ships be named after greatful states of our Glorious Union. We have sailed to all points on the weather gauge to the seven seas and the wars of old. We lost the mighty MAINE at Havana Harbor and the first MISSISSIPPI sold to Greece where she served that nation proudly till she sank below the waves in the opening months of World War II. but a new princess joined our mighty fleet the second MISSISSIPPI and the ARIZONA in the 1910's roaring 20's. Then came our darkest days ahead.  December 7th, 1941 as we lay resting in line in Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Navy launched a suprise attack as we lay sleeping on that Saboth day. Our crews a sleep in the their bunks our boilers almost cold just enough to keep my nerves awake. They came in with their aeroplanes and torpedo bombers and they circled us like wasps coming in for a kill and kill they did. My older sisters ARIZONA, OKLAHOMA, WEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, and many others went to their deaths their life blood bleeding out of their punctured sides blackening the blue waters as the crimson red blood of their crews washed the decks in red. We were hurt but we awoke and we planned our revenege. Many sisters were raised from their shallow graves and repaired while the ARIZONA lay with her back broken and 1,400 of her crew aboard A shrine to our mistake, but now we were not alone sailing beside us in perfect formation the aircraft carriers of our mighty Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleets. While our British Sisters waged war with German man and machine, BISMARCK, TRIPTIZ, waged war with the HMS HOOD, KING GEORGE and RODNEY. WE fought the  Empire of theRising Sun, at Mid Way and the South Seas shelling the land and bombing their merchant ships while our submarines hunted them down in Cat and Mouse games in which their was only one survivor. Our planes caused the Rising Sun to drop one final time and it was upon the decks of a Battleship born in war but used as a platform for peace.

    Times began to change, Aircraft carriers were now the rising Queens and our numbers grew thin many a proud ship was decommissioned and sent off to the scrappers one final voyage before their mighty guns fell silent for the last time as others were sent home to states to serve a new purpose one of teaching our children of the past. The joy of children's laughter fills the air above decks were mighty guns once roared and men screamed and died. Old men walk the decks silently and carefully looking over us and remembering when they were young with the salt air whipping through their hair as we steamed into the thick of the battle. In the 50's only four of us were left. MISSOURI, NEW JERSEY, WISCONSIN and myself, IOWA. All the rest were in mothballs or heading for perminate bearths while the unfortunate ones headed for their deaths in the glow of a scrappers torch. More wars followed and the last of us did our share Korea, Vietam and the Persian Gulf where only the MISSOURI played a role. Now my three sisters are headed to perminate bearths while I am the last to save.

Stephen Warrington
December 7th 2001