Respite From the Wash

Respite From the Wash

posted Dec 28, 2015, 8:36 AM by Doug Blair

They sight a rare north-easter The ship will roll and mourn And quite a ways And several days Afore we reach the Horn. The blast compels us ice-ward The rigging all a-sheen We hope for west And do our best With chop we’ve never seen. And two days back we lost one In seconds he was gone The wash was coy It grabbed the boy And this his thirteenth run. At first light sometimes quiet And Captain reads us Psalms A special hour We sense God’s power He whips up and He calms. This evening all exhausted And in my bunk a whiles And Danny sits across from me And slaps my knee and smiles: “Your three percent is waiting Once we collect the loot In warmer seas Bright birds in trees. And roasted pig to boot.” It’s good to feel the promise That beats this awful chill And soothes the ache In friendship’s wake. And re-creates the will.

Reviews

[Stefano Segnan]

Salute to you! This poem has a very developed rhythm and an easy one, making it really simple to resonate in one's head. The overall imagery is also very descriptive and good. Enjoyed reading this piece.