Sailor’s Calm
Calm serene days
Sizzling stifling doldrums…
Crystal clear depths
Beneath a silver blue mirror
A sailor’s calm…
“Calm seas do not make a skilled sailor”
Off in the distance
Mushroom clouds inflate!
Horizon blackens
Trade wind wall shatters the calm
The mirror splinters
Small glittering shards, dancing lights
Shards fade to gray
Then black
Pull in the sails!
Tie off the lines!
Foaming waves lift and churn
You are tossed in dangerous depths
Palms bleed, arms sorely stretched
Feet pierced by debris
Waves subdue
Rough waters sink
Weathered, bronzed
You rise stronger than before
The wisdom of a ship’s Captain
The badge of rough seas.
Michele Marie