"Tall Ships..." Poem

A friend asked me to write about "Tall Ships".  I'm sure he wasn't thinking it would stump me in ANY way.  I've wandered the decks of many of them - "Tall Ships" in many ports AND on several continents.  The USS Constellation an AWESOME example of its time and the 'fighting trim' of our Navy.  Home ported for display at Baltimore Maryland - its open to the public for walking and remembering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constellation_(1854)

In New York City The 1976 Bicentennial included an awesome PARADE of Tall Ships brought together for one specific function - to demonstrate to the world the continuing capabilities of their crews and the support given by their various Government sponsors.  I - like many others watched this via television broadcasts.

Bicentennial Tall Ships Parade 1976 - New York City

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb/participants/dutch/WTC1976/WTC002.htm


I didn't write a new poem... instead I decided to take this one from the end of Chapter One of a book I never published.  It was PENNED a while back but I really think it is most apropos to the intent Laury wanted.


“Tall Ships…”

 

You ever seen a REAL "Tall Ship"?
how about up close and personal -
physically walking the decks
running your hands along the lines and cables -
feeling the tautness of the sinews
-for ships ARE alive you know,
feeling real wood beneath your feet -
rock-solid, dependable - beyond question,
such a feel of permanence they have.

Actually hear the creaks

and groans of a tired soul - settling somehow,

somewhere - just out of sight

but not out of hearing -

and not always as old as you'd think.

 

...And the masts thrusting skyward -

So very, very tall,

and the smaller you are - the taller THEY are,

bigger than life somehow,

strong and seemingly invincible,

ageless,

sometimes bare and stark

the visible scars from untold, unknown moments

marking them - marring them, personalizing them

with a realness,

as if painted across the sky

unmoving immutable beautiful and

seeming so impervious to the vagaries

of time or of ANY 'wind' there could ever be...

...And sometimes the masts are so full -

bearing an impossible load

they actually curve, somehow bend -

and I THINK of the majesty that something

so PHYSICALLY imposing can somehow find

that EXTRA strength within

to give that lil bit more,

that lil bit necessary

to keep from shattering -

from splintering under the stress of doing

what they - afterall - MUST.

 

I never knew my dad,

wished I did

he WAS my tall ship

and like me

and so many others

he foundered during the storms

and vanished in the seamless sea...

...such is life -

You know?

 

I don't hate tears, or fear them - mine or anyone else's ~ and yes I well up at times and so do you.  Our emotions are real and strong and important to share - because they are US - an integral part OF us, as we are without masks or guile.  Sometimes tears are our de-fence to a self-perceived uncaring world and as we let them out we open ourselves and BREAK the damn walls that kept us so far away from what we really wanted... company along our way.

Chris

 

 

Author's Note

Another day

Reviews

[Judy Ponceby]

Such a deeply moving piece of your heart Chris. Brilliant. Beautifully written. Felt the ship beneath my feet and the sails in the wind. Phenomenal.

[Emily B]

Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,
Past the houses -- past the headlands --
Into deep Eternity --

Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?
--emily dickinson

[Kenneth The Poet]

Stunning, exceptional, brilliant piece of prose. Love the metaphor.