Close to the Edge

My father was a sailor

He was always off the shore,

And I’d watch his sailboat ‘Ransom’

As it gaff-rigged past our door,

And he told me - ‘When you’re old enough

I’ll show you where they dwell,

The mermaids, with their necklaces,

Made out of cockleshells!

 

Then out on the verandah

He would stare straight out to sea,

Where the sun meets the horizon

Then he’d sit me on his knee,

And he’d tell me tales of Morgan,

Tales of Captain Kidd and Co.,

When they roamed the Caribbean

In the days of long ago.

 

He would sail out in the summer,

He would sail out in the fall,

He would sail to the horizon

In the mist, and through a squall,

And he always took his bo’sun

‘Shifty’ Dick, who trimmed the sail,

Drank the ‘Ransom’ dry of whiskey,

Lashed his wrist, hard to the rail.

 

Then one winter, storm capped waters

Beat unceasing on our shore,

And my mother lit the lantern

Kept a vigil by the door.

But the ‘Ransom’ kept its secrets

Never came to shore again,

And my father joined the history

Of all seafaring men!

 

I grew and took my lessons

In a little trailer-sail,

When my mother wasn’t watching;

She would cry, and she would wail:

‘Don’t you ever let me catch you,

Staring, looking out to sea,

It’s enough I lost your father…’

‘Never fret! You won’t lose me!’

 

For years I watched them leaving,

All the magic sailing boats,

Some were worth a clear million,

While some could barely float!

I watched as they sailed out, and then

I watched on their return,

But some were lost forever,

Sunk - Exploded - Overturned!

 

I bought a gaff-rigged schooner,

It had seen far better days,

But I patched it and I painted it,

I called it the ‘Sea Haze’;

I took it out with friends -

We didn’t venture out too far -

But learnt to jib, and trim the sail,

To run along the shore!

 

Then finally I headed out

To where it all began,

Beyond the far horizon

Where the ‘Ransom’ cut and ran,

The clouds began to gather

And the shades began to steal,

The waves broke on the forward deck

And I clung to the wheel.

 

The storm clouds that had gathered

Opened up and thundered rain,

It beat upon the masthead, and it

Lashed the sagging main,

It soaked my tiny cabin and it

Churned the heaving sea,

The waves on the horizon

Lay in wait out there, for me!

 

I sailed right through some warp of space

Or time, or so it seemed,

For then it was I caught a sight

Out there - a Quinquereme!

The rows of oars were stilled, I saw,

But some unholy moan,

Broke through the madness of the storm

And chilled me to the bone!

 

And then I saw a Galleass,

And then I saw a tramp,

To port there was a Brigantine

To starboard there, a lamp!

A single lamp to light the way

I took my bearings then,

No sign of a horizon there,

I sailed toward the end!

 

The sea, it fell away just there

And all I saw was space,

The ancients said the earth was flat,

My heart began to race.

A thousand ships lay still out there

A Cruiser, Barque, a Dredge!

They’d sailed in space there since the day

They sailed right off the edge!

 

The ‘Sea Haze’ raced along a line

Just inches from dismay,

I turned the wheel to head back home,

To live another day,

And then I saw the ‘Ransom’ turning

Slowly in the sky,

While ‘Shifty’ Dick, still tethered,

Floated wide and still and dry!

 

The ‘Sea Haze’ sits at anchor still

Just out from my back door,

She sank a dozen years ago,

Sat down, hard on the shore.

I never stare out at the sea,

The sea I thought I knew,

For who’d believe the earth was flat?

That’s right! - Not even you!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Lena M. P.]

The call of the sea is a powerful siren and no woman can compete to one who hears the song. Not wife, not mother not girl can hold their own to the beauty and lure of the calling. But the sea is a fickle mistress and her temper harsh to those who fail to respect and fear her. He was lucky to have lived to tell the tale. Excellent feel with the drama only you can add.

[Alicia Schroeder]

Beautiful and such wonderful imagery.. I loved this read :)

[Katrina Mckeown]

Beautiful imagery, a well penned piece, thought provoking ! Thank-you for sharing this enjoyable read!

[TL Boehm]

WOW! One of my favorite poems is the Wreck of the Hesperus and this poem is along that wonderful vein. I'm landlocked which probably makes the appeal even more fascinating - but the ending was such an unexpected surprise in this work. Loved it.

[Genevieve]

I love reading your pieces. You're such a gifted storyteller. The imagery is so rich, so beautiful.

[A.r. Bazian]

ive read better ones by you! regardless of this one's brilliance!

respect mate!
cheers!

[Wendy Seames Garner]

Perfect!

[emmajoy]

Incredible and wonderful meter running start to finish through an amazing tale. Just read it a second time and have decided that your way of putting words out is like creating music .. a sea symphony indeed. Love the way your move into another plane almost magically and then, then inform your readers that .. and of course, I knew it all along, the world is flat!.

There's near innocence in the following stanza,

I bought a gaff-rigged schooner, ~ It had seen far better days, ~ But I patched it and I painted it, ~ I called it the ‘Sea Haze’; ~ I took it out with friends ~ We didn’t venture out too far - But learnt to jib, and trim the sail, ~ To run along the shore!

[Amila Jay]

Beautiful write:-)

[Morrigan Nicole]

Brilliant, I am thankful to have recieved a RR.