All the Salt

Jess Arrowsmith


When we are gone from this place, a dim remembered face

Can bind us all together, our mothers and our sons

And every link in that chain, forged with love, blood and pain

Can remind us all forever of where once we had begun

All the salt in the sea cannot preserve me

All the heat in the fire cannot bring my heart’s desire

All the birds in the sky cannot teach me to fly

But the love in my soul can keep me whole

Now if we have purpose here, give up duty and fear

Cherish family, cherish friends, our fathers and our daughters

To each moment hold fast, as if each were your last

And hope each day will end with embraces, smiles and laughter.


When reasoned thought can’t explain untold suffering and pain

Take solace in good company, our partners and our neighbours

If we strive, do our best to fill their hearts with happiness

Then our own soon full can be, and so reward our labours