The Anathemata
The Lady of the Pool (continued)
Vengeance of white great birds,
wraith-barques and phantom landfalls, undergirdings,a
jetsonings, neapingsb and groundings, fire ’tween-decks
fire in the orlopc
fire in the hold.
David Jones notes
additional notes
see also
See the sea shanty There’s a fire down below.
semantic structures
glossary
a undergird: to pass a cable several times under and around a ship and tightening it on deck, to prevent the working and parting of the timbers and planks in a gale.
b neap (verb): to trap a ship (or ship and crew) in water too shallow to move, due to the smaller tidal range occurring in a period of neap tides.
c orlop: the lowest deck in a ship. It is the deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line.
comments
The storm is over, but there were other perils.