There are some limits to one’s endurance,
and ocean salt’s as stingy as Old Nick.
Two gloomy vessels once shared a mooring:
they stood together, side by side, for weeks.

The smaller one would bend her steampipes slightly,
would shook her forecastle, wiggle with her stern:
"What is this ship? He’s boorish and unsightly,
and rough and rusty - I would be concerned!"

They would not recognize each other,
acting as farsighted.
But, hating one another,
they remained united.

He was decaying without assistance,
and she herself did not look new as well.
So if you notice them from a distance,
you might get scared and sink without a swell.

The bigger one was freezing from containment,
although he was a tough one, made of steel.
And all the twenty thousand tons displacement
Would seethe with indignation - stack to keel!

So, their offence against each other,
was, indeed, two-sided.
Thus, hating one another,
they remained united.

The weeks passed quickly, the work was finished.
The spacklers patched the old and rusty plates.
and near the water, where the ships were thinnest,
they tied a waterline around their waists.

They reapplied the paint and scrubbed all metals,
they steamed the boilers, every light was checked.
And by the end of the refit these vessels
had straightened up their shoulders and their decks.

The new appearance of their neighbor
was then promptly sighted.
The works were finished in their favor:
both were quite delighted.

The one who’s bigger appeared quite smitten:
"We are both wrong, according to my view.
For I have never seen such splendid women
and ships that were more beautiful than you!"

The one who’s smaller whispered in an instance,
"You look more irresistible than most.
For something great is seen best from a distance,
But sometimes it is better to be close."

There’s little privacy when docking:
Cannot be provided.
In spite of this, the ships were talking,
Visibly excited!

Both have been given their port assignments,
Two independent routes they’d been assigned.
They left their dock together in excitement,
Just as they had it early, side by side.

To the horizon they traversed in silence,
Ignoring rudders, currents, winds, and waves.
The restoration crew was waving kindly
To the two ships reluctant to part ways.

Now what? These ships are going crazy!
What have they decided?
Perhaps they fell in love, and maybe
They will stay united.