The howling wind had shred my sails
And the waves, tremendous and menacing had
Battered my hull to its breaking point.
The carcass of my ship came desolate, adrift,
Into the bay of our first embrace.
You broke away too quickly,
And I stayed too long,
But we laughed it off and soldiered on.
How funny it is to think
That in the midst of torrential rain
And glowering lightning
Cracking across the sky above us like porcelain,
We found our nooks to hide in,
Built safe haven in the shadows of each other.
To think, within the skeleton of my scuppered vessel
We spoke into the night
And shared our secrets, as the listing mast
swayed to and fro above us in the wind.
Though the clouds were black and grim as ever
and swinging lantern-light set shadows flickering madly,
In a smile and a laugh we could ridicule
These ill-fated portends.
Set our hearts jittering in the moonlight
And find in rotting beams and rusted nails
The furthest star from all our troubles.
Watch the planet from far beyond
And see the maelstrom as nothing but a miniscule speck.
Vacant sleep, caught in the eye of some infinite deity
Who could dash away the whole of civilisation
With the drowsy rub of a thumb.
I try not to miss you.
But still, when the waves are rising,
I sometimes spy a wandering vessel
Amid the swirling waters.
I recognise it at a glance,
A bright and daring little ship
Careening wildly through the night,
All courage and colour and bold defiance.
My ship is scuttled, gaunt and worm-ridden.
But yours
Is as brilliant and vivid as I remember.
Cover image: Ivan Aivazovsky, 'Stormy Sea at Night', 1849
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