Ahoy: Verses from a Young Sailor

By Mike Young

These are poems I wrote about my time in the navy and about other things in life. 

I'm a retired truck driver. A couple of years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with words in my head, so I got up and started writing, and I have been writing ever since. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: Jun 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781648959875

Mike Young

Mike was born and raised in Kirkland Lake, a small northern mining town with a nearby First Nations reserve. He grew up with a love of the north, even in the midst of winter, exploring the surrounding woods with his friends, and his grandfather. He moved down south in his 20's to follow a career in quality management, but his real pleasure was still heading outside the city, with canoe and tent. While in Toronto he also developed an interest in back-alley murals, in artistic graffiti, and worked with some police there that saw its potential as a community building exercise. He'd always been a voracious reader, so several years into retirement he decided to try writing, and hasn't stopped since. This is his first book, but he has several more drafts waiting in the wings.

Book preview

About Getting Old

As I write these words, I wonder why…

We grow old and have to die…

When God created women and men…

Why was that part of the plan?

Now some have been blessed, I have to say…

They’ve had the love of their life by their side every day…

They had a wonderful life with no regret…

There were ups, very few downs…

Mostly smiles, hardly any frowns…

But now they are on the downhill slide…

Getting old has been a bumpy ride…

But they had each other, and that made it okay…

Their love for each other was as strong as the day…

They said I do and started their journey…

And that’s what scares them because they know

That someday, she will lose him or he will lose her

Either way apart, they will go…

So a tear may fall while writing this…

A bond so strong, they will surely miss…

My words come straight from my heart…

Always have right from the start…I try to write what’s in my head…I hope I’m not upsetting someone with these words you’ve read…The day will come, I don’t know why…God made man to live than die…

But I guess we really shouldn’t complain

For all our years were not in vain…

If you were lucky enough to be a husband or a wife…

To the person who was the love of your life…

Written by Mike Young (Copyrighted)

Being Old

I’ve reached that time in my life…

The kids are grown, just me and the wife…

I don’t have a job, no place to go…

In the summer, I just wait for the grass to mow…

It’s not a lot of fun, being an old crow…

You feel like you’re just not needed anymore…

And little things get harder to do, that’s for sure…

It’s all I can do to walk up the cellar stairs…

Every day gets harder, it’s just not fair…

I have all this time in these golden years…

But I’ve so many aches, it brings me to tears…

I like to sing, but I’m not very good…

’Cause when I do, everyone wants to leave the neighborhood…

It’s getting so I can’t do anything right…