Explicitly Ambiguous

My Father-in-law was on the USS Silverstein during WWII. This past week I was sent photos of his time on the ship to scan. There was included a ship’s newsletter, the Jam Handy, that I also scanned. It was the last newsletter because they were heading home. This poem was included in the newsletter.

(As printed in the USS Silverstein newsletter Jam Handy November 1945.)

Loving A Sailor

Loving a sailor is not all gay
For with your heart is the price you pay.
It’s mostly having and not to hold,
Being young, but feeling old.
It’s sending a letter with an upside-down stamp
To a special lover in a far away camp.
Being in love with merely your dreams
Brings thoughts of heaven where lovelight gleams.
You wish it were possible for him to phone,
You want to hear, “I’m on my way home.”
And, if it comes, it’s laughter together,
Unconscious of people, of time, and of weather.
It’s having him whisper his love for you,
It’s whispering that you love him, too.
And then comes a kiss, a promise of love,
And knowing you’re watched by the Father above.
It’s waving a sailor good-bye at the train
And wondering, “When will I see him again?”
And reluctantly, painfully, telling him go
When inside you’re crying for wanting him so.
You watch for the word that he is well,
You wait for months — a no-letter spell.
And when the mail comes you bubble with joy
And act like a child with a shiny new toy.
Loving a sailor is unfounded fears,
Crying until there are no more tears.
Hating the world, yourself, and the war
Because it took the man you adore.
Then going to church, to have faith and pray
And really meaning the things that you say.
And though you know he is far away
You keep on loving him more each day.
You are proud of the job he’s helping get done,
He’s doing his part as Uncle Sam’s son.
You know for his country he’s doing his best,
He’s fighting for you — like all the rest.
You’re tired, you’re weary, you’re doing your share,
You’re helping you sailor to win over there.
Loving a sailor is bitterness, tears,
It’s loneliness, sadness, unfounded fears –
No, loving a sailor is really no fun,
But it’s worth the price when the battle is won!

———- Walter C. Holloway

(Walter Holloway was the Father of one of the men on the ship. He had passed away
a few weeks before and the poem was sent to the editor of the newsletter as a
tribute .)