Unmoored

Unmoored is my first truly allegorical poem: tragedy, lost sense of self, surrender to the Divine, redemption.

Unmoored

The Captain came down to the pier

After a hurricane dark and fearsome

To inspect for harm his lovely sailing ship

But alas he could not find her nor hold back a tear

She was a fine vessel live oak and three masts

He'd been aboard her his whole life long

From laying her keel through all of her refits

And in the doldrums endless and through the cannon blasts

For a time he couldn't captain another ship

He knew the foc'sle from the bilge of course

The crow's nest from the wheel

But he couldn't get the feel of them, like a strange woman's lips

So from the sea he did retire trying other ventures

But what's a captain without his ship

She's how he know's to define himself

From the sail's heavy canvas to the galley's trencher

Then one day he stepped aboard a small river queen

Carrying travelers along from one town to the next

Of shallow draft and with only two decks

She was a side-paddle beauty driven by steam

But most of all it was the waters she plied

Wide and gentle and bordered by trees

The river set his course by current and by bend

He felt a captain complete and along for the ride

Reviews

[Sharan Suresh]

"...But he couldn't get the feel of them, like a strange woman's lips"

Very evocative. Loved it.

But if I may, felt the later part to have been rushed through a bit. But of course that is only because the tragedy itself is so detailed, and poignant.

[abluehorseandflowers]

Thank you Sharan. I agree the end is not so well developed. Maybe because I have less experience coming out the other side, so there's less imagery to draw upon. There's a poem in that. Thanks again.

[Sharan Suresh]

Would love to come back and read on that someday. Thanks for sharing.

[abluehorseandflowers]

I revised the end and am happy I did. Thank you again for your suggestion.

[Sharan Suresh]

And I too sire! The end of a journey and the beginning of another. Kindles a hope in the mind. Thank you.

[Glen Yumang Manese]

You must fall in order to get back up...
the material in not so immaterial to us after all...
most see things as just that --- an object...
yet others see them as an object of affection...