the seas forever indigo in the maritime novels,,,
will we be overblown we asked ourselves
in the first chapters, delicate as sea glass
will nations fume and pass
over the wave and spume and drown in the tides of noon
or pirates soar leaving nothing to explore
into the roar of squalls
let it be seen in the captains waterlogged logs
the substance of dreams dissolved or Shelley's poetry;
of treasures keeping company
with weird sea urchins
maps on parchment with the ink sobbing
less and less each day and the seas glassine
as they used to say: all souls on board
counted by miscreant angels.
children, vanished in the sea lanes.
will Melville live
until there is nothing left to forgive
why has everything gone away
why is the world itself a seemingly infinite shipwreck
our hearts as they were then, washed astray;
toll not for me.
mary angela douglas 20 may 2023
No comments:
Post a Comment