Til My Ship Comes In
Becalmed on a sea of smoke
a nowhere that could be anywhere
I made an indigo wind
to fill my sails.
"It's just enchantment, " you said,
"It's not personal." as
the voyage began
to tick down
kiss by kiss, bookmarks
in the wildness
floating your stopwatch eyes.
"Time's up!" you said,
and changed the rules.
I thought everything not experimental
was forbidden, but it seems heartbreak
will ruin a boat.
The shipwreck was easy,
but the distance to shore
was a bitch. Still
but still,
better to drown
than to straddle a broken bench
and bleed, bailing a sinking boat
with no bottom.
April 2024
Images: Boat of the Mermaid, ©Sabin Balasa via internet Fair Use
A Rocky Shore, Iona ©Samuel Peploe, via internet Fair Use
I love that indigo wind and the stopwatch eyes . And the whole boat metaphor is just perfect, and amazing. So good to read you, Joy.
ReplyDeleteYou have such an economy of words that are like little bombs or gems all the more powerful for their brevity. The entire poem has the feel of a hallucination or a dream, and in fact, isn't that how these things often feel? There is nothing soft-focus or dreamy about being cut adrift in cold water, though, and you've expressed that in your trademark vivid, poetic, take-no-prisoners way. I'm so happy when you join in at the List. It's so much better with my BFF there.
ReplyDeleteI really chuckled when I read "the shipwreck was easy but the distance to shore was a bitch." And I found myself picturing bailing a sinking boat with no bottom! You used the words masterfully to weave an enjoyable tale.
ReplyDeleteloved the line - t seems heartbreak will ruin a boat" This was really great and you really worked with the words. Great work.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing worse or more treacherous than someone changing the rules on us. I love the "stopwatch eyes" metaphor and "the shipwreck was easy" just yelled out to me, like the survivor in this poem--treading water after the catastrophe, and then letting go. Superb poetry, Hedge.
ReplyDeleteA survivor's tale of shipwrecked love, Joy, telling of betrayal and ruin in bold strokes. I especially loved this metaphor: "floating your stopwatch eyes". Stopwatch eyes. Brilliant. ❤
ReplyDeleteHeartbreak ~ the ultimate sinker of boats. Gorgeous poetry as always, Joy.
ReplyDeleteon my walk today was listening to Paul Simon - Graceland came on. That line, 'love is like a window in your heart / everyone can see you're blown apart'. that final stanza is everything. and no worries about responding. i get it... me too... ~ M
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words, M, here and on the more recent piece. I wish life had kinder ones for you, and know that your courage can see you through the 'treatment worse than the disease,' the being made a cipher and seen as a 'case', the long long journey towards life which has so many obstacles to deal with. I am in awe of your ability to write about it, let alone endure it with such positivity. I hope things only get better for you, my friend. This world needs your being in it.
DeleteOh my "it seems heartbreak / will ruin a boat." That is top drawer. Like Shay said, so many well crafted parts of this and we are bailing for eternity with you at the end. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI think this is one of your best! You have captured the heart of love with a destiny of loss. That second verse really rocks the boat. One can feel the wind change and the waves swell in agony. I think I have taken that voyage...
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