sitting in the liferaft

Sitting in the life raft
cold and all alone
seasick and dejected
no radio or phone

one red flare has been fired
it went up OK
but was any body watching
at the closing of the day

will I die slowly of hypothermia
or will I rapidly drown
offshore where Coastguard stations
for efficiency are closed down

we must rely on the general public
not glued to their phone
to cast an eye out to sea
exploring the great unknown

a fishing boat might see me
if not tied to the quay
due to fishing quotas
they spend so little time at sea

once there was a coastal fleet
scurrying about
now there are container ships
too equipped to look out

but in the numerous old peoples home
infirm look out wistfully
who will believe the garbled report

mumbled incoherently