I see you, boss
waiting at the dock;
your steadfast gaze
I know not where it lands.
I will follow you, boss
through this derelict ship
as we brave the winter cold.
Up and down we will climb
through the ship arrested-
hating what we love,
loving what we hate;
it’s in our blood, boss,
to devote our lives to sea.
Hunger will soon lead us
to the dusty galley
where we witness life once lived,
long forgotten memorabilia-
cards, magazines, books, CDs.
A wheel of white European cheese
hardened and moldy
sits on a table half-eaten,
whiffs of outdated ham and bologna
overcome our olfactory nerves
eating now a lost dream.
I see you, boss,
turn the other way;
your steadfast gaze landing
on a precision German sextant;
someone’s treasure now evidence.
I watch you closely, boss,
waiting to follow your lead
but you walk on by nonplused
on this cold wintery day
and I follow you
inch by inch,
boss.
15 comments:
Like how you speak to your boss!
singular thoughts
Laurie - you are so talented!
This was an amazing poem which captured the mood perfectly. I loved the line, "...hating what we love,/loving what we hate;/it’s in our blood, boss,.."
Brilliant!
Laurie, you certainly give a voice to the photo. I love tales of the sea.
Pamela
A wonderful take on the prompt - your words are perfect.
A latter day Marie Celeste. Beautifully written, and I like the shape, too.
You seem to understand that whole life style so well and are able to bring us into it.
http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/perfect-family-big-tent-poetry/
Wow! That was really well done!
An atmospheric take on the grinding routine and claustrophobia of life at sea.
hating what we love,
loving what we hate;
it’s in our blood, boss
The call of the sea, eh?
This was full of images for all of the senses! I could really "feel" my way through this poem!
I get the notion that this is a conversation with ghosts...regardless, I quite like this.
Thank you so much for the comments everyone! That's one of the many things I love about Big Circus Poetry- everyone's so supportive and actually takes the time to read and comment. I can't tell you how much you all mean to me!
~laurie
You've got the character, a sailer, brilliantly. The speaking of the poem is as I would hear it too - not too much literary finesse, but enough, a sort of stream of consciousness formatted into centered lines, a mixture of admiration, memory, hunger, leadership, the sea who owns them all, the sea that they love, in a poem where I can feel the rocking decks under my feet and taste the salt of the waves.
Fascinating perspective. One wholly unexpected. (Just as a subject matter, not that you couldn't write it!) Yet so authorative.
You've created such a vivid story from this photo, and I like how the boss never turns or responds...
Post a Comment