I am the Esperance

I am the Esperance, I sail in your wake,
canvas unfurled, bellied with hope
as you pour into Glasgow Green –
we are your chorus, my sisters and I,
your creation, a fleet of belief, heading back to the Clyde
from the seven seas: veteran Hikitia, floating crane,
the only one of her kind in the world, she’s home again
from Wellington; and Empire Nan, our stout tug;
Delta Queen – her great stern wheel churns the foam
as she steams in from the Mississippi; and bold Akasha,
laden with memories of the Nile; we shimmer for you,
our riggings clink, our funnels boom to your cry:
“The Right To Work, Not a Yard Will Close,
Not a Man Down the Road,” your banners and flags
like waves before us, drawing us home in one great tide,
Umoja’s here, her name bearing our purpose today –
unity – a gleam on her prow; Moonstone and Seva,
who well as any know all about salvage –
and there’s Uhuru, named for freedom,
Uhuru, Uhuru, my sister Uhuru, sailing with me
in your wake, my canvas unfurled, freighted with hope,
as wave upon wave, you surge into Glasgow Green.