IN MEMORY OF OUR SHIPMATES
No one hears the door that opens
Through which they pass beyond recall;
Soft as loosened leaves of roses,
One by one our ship mates fall.
From our chain these links have fallen;
In our land their stars have set;
But enshrined on Des Moines’ memory’s tablet,
Their true worth we’ll ne’er forget.
Behold, how steady the course
As they cruise the Med so blue,
To grace a house not made with hands,
Invisible to mortal view.
Their labor done, their journeys o’er,
Reward has come with their release,
They rest upon the farther shore
With God in God’s eternal peace.
There is a stream that all must cross,
The river of human years;
Now lying calm in the summer light
Now splashed with the rain of human tears.
Out from the hills of God it flows,
And on to the shoreless sea,
Here the noontide sun no shadow throws
And time is eternity.
Let us pray:
The peace of God which passeth all understandings, keep
our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God. The everlasting
arms protect and guide us in the paths of righteousness.
The light of the Father’s welcome transfigure us on the morn of the endless
day.
Amen.