Adrift

I sound the call and yet I cry
for the answer never comes
I see the distant battlefield
and hear the sound of drums.

And yet, although I would engage,
I am held back from the fray
not by choice, no, not at all
but by his answer - nay.

I ache, I burn, inside I throb,
my eyes plead for surrender
and with a smile, he sends regrets
and in retreat I wander.

I dare not chide my captain
or hound his courage here
for what man can rouse himself
when faced with forlorn tears?

There is no surcease now
no easy end in sight
I mark my dreams with raindrops
and sleep away the night.