Harbour | Anonymous

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