The Sailor’s Button

Why do you have a button there
Sewn to your sleeve so blue
Why when there isn’t a hole for you
To push the button through?

I need a button, old and spare
For the wild and open sea
That knows a hundred stories
For to keep me company.

But why do you have a button there
Stitched on with gossamer green
Why on your smock of cobalt blue
Blue as a sky washed clean?

Haven’t you seen the winter dark
The churning waters grey?
Emerald holds the promise
Of an early summer’s day.

But why do you have that button there
A beacon bold and red
Do you wear it as a warning
Of dangers harsh, of dread?

If you knew the hand so soft with care
Gave me this button bright
You’d know how it is I sail so sure
How true my guiding light.