At Home on the Sea

You sit silently

 water teases

bumping against

your hull

a few more moments

rest

preparing for a dance with the waves

and then like the rooster that crows at dawn,

the captain shouts the order:

“unleash the mainsail,

ready the ropes from mooring

raise our standard,

let the sun have her glorious moment”

colors dance and flutter as the breeze grasps sepia sails

the sun smiles, ” yes, the perfect day to set out”

I remember too well

 days when the sun-kissed my face

and the breeze snapped at my hair

like a bubble the topsails float free

sailors amble down the ropes

upturned faces meet the day in an “ahhh”

more billowing white than brown

as the captain tugs at the wheel

“yes, my lady, it is time to fly”

he grasps the smooth wood like a lover

he feels her tug back, “I am ready,” she whispers

free from her mooring, she lets the wind pull her about

sailor’s legs are eager to feel the motion of the sea

white meets blue in a halo of reflections

tears pool as my heart wants to grasp at freedom

a tug of war with spirit and earth

as the sails reach to the sea

she glides toward open water

I am glad for the reminder

one day I too will leave the mooring of life

releasing billowing sails to the winds beyond

gliding freely with the captain of my ship to open waters

 

“Tis the set of the sail that decides the goal, and not the storms of life.”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

Brainy quotes

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
²     covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
³ He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
⁴ he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

Psalms 104: 1-4