~ Balls to Four ~

It was “haze gray and underway”—

A mantra from my youth—

That turned my mind to retrospect,

To lessons learned, in truth.

The mists of time hang 'round me now

In never-ending lines;

I left my home for haze gray walls

And ten-peseta wines.

With tapas, but without a thought,

In stand-bars near Cádiz,

I’d naught a clue to where I was,

What ghosts that I drank with.

The Pinta or the Niña crew

May well have hoisted there

Before they sailed with Cristóbal,

But I was unaware.

The moments of my life sail past

Like frigates leaving shore;

Jack Tar was I: a swab by day,

A helmsman, balls to four.

~ Dean Neighbors ~

The term "balls to four" is Navy slang for the midwatch, the four-hour shift typically standing from midnight (0000) to 0400.

Jack Tar is an English slang term for a sailor, originally referring to those in the British Merchant or Royal Navy during the age of sail. It has to do with the wearing of Tar in the hair. As a water repellent.