The Sliver of Foyer Light

-



We’re the crew of survivors
Aboard
The Cumberland
The Re d’Italia
The SM U-10
Tormented by the 
the nautical circumference
of an interminable forever
Clinging to the rails of the ship
Watching in helpless horror
As our beloveds
Are 
dragged 
down
To the very same 
terrifying 
depths
That once upon a time
Strangled us 
Like the suffocating 
tentacles of mythical Kraken
in the heart-racing
panic-stricken  threat of the night time nursery
When we cried out
Like the howls of frightened cubs
For the life and death rescue of 
a hand-delivered
half-full glass of water
As we stared 
At the sliver of foyer light 
Which peeked in on us like God
through the steady as she goes
crack of a barely opened hatch
As we squeezed onto the rails
Of our quickly sinking cribs
And prayed from the
Depths of our souls
For our nocturnal captain 
Or first mate of the watch
to magically appear
Just like the mythical ones did
When the words of Treasure Island
Were read to us
In voices that sounded like the 
songs of grown-up mermaids,
Which would signal to us 
That it was time to
up anchor and float away
And so
Powered by the ritual
Of the reassuring blanket tuck
And lightly descending kiss
We would slowly close our eyes
The adagio of infinite trust
Unfurl the flags of our faith
And guided by the point of sail
And the assurance of velocity
We would head due north
Towards the discrete, starlit and most welcoming province 
of dreams.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Must Babies Think?

-
What must babies think, As they wonder why their Push pram rocket ship Which on most days thrusts them Into the universe of the fiery sky ball and chatter filled park Sits mothballed in the corner Staring at the wall like White-haired bench people Who always seem so Sad and forgotten? What must dogs think The Wal Mart greeters of the Animal world Who use the sign language Of the excitable nose and tail To communicate their borderline insane love for anything that moves When they trot out first thing In the morning like they’re in competition at Westminster Only to discover A show of silent concrete? What must jets think Who usually cannibalize people Until their bellies are full When the only in-flight meal Is a flight crew Two pilots And 900 steerage ghosts Who sit Without hope or destiny In the kind of Quiet That follows anyone Who has ever walked Away from a grave? What must birds think The cocky pigeons The Blue-header vireo Or the Y
Read more

EVERY WORD

-
Image
Every word Which we have the freedom to use Is a boy Or a girl as fresh as a prom corsage in a pine box In a bone white church That sits high atop a field of markers a million Stars of Bethlehem Many of whom will share the name Unknown. Every word Which we have the freedom to use Is someone’s dream Someone’s child Someone’s love Someone’s pain which the wind has carried off the returning flight of dust and seeds to an unimagincally distant place which is reachable solely by the asphyxiating ache of a parent’s prayer. Every word Which we have the freedom to use is as holy and sanctified as the endless death march miles of desiccated battlefields and lost at sea oceans which stand as memorials constant reminders that words are meant for Declarations of love and independence and Constitutions, Anthems and Pledges of Alleigenace and vows and plays and scientists and philosophers and bibles. There is a reason that our very first word and ou
Read more

IT'S ONLY WORDS

-
Image
Those of us of a certain age of Aquarius remember that tune. For those of you whose taste runs along the lines of K-Pop, it was a big hit released by The Bee Gees in 1968. “It’s only words and words are all I have, to take your heart away.” According to Robin Gibb, “Words reflects a mood.   It was written after an argument.   Barry had been arguing with someone.   Robin had been arguing with someone and happened to be in the same mood.   The arguments were about absolutely nothing. They were just words.   That is what the song is about: words can make you happy or words can make you sad.” 1968 was a hell of a time in America.     The year began with the Tet Offensive in the midst of the Vietnam War, Martin and Bobby were assassinated, cops and protestors clashed in Chicago and even though the Civil Rights Act was passed in April, a particularly strong showing   by segregationist George Wallace   highlighted the strong element of racism that continued to strive ac
Read more