in the open water
of this world
we must learn to live
without anchor
keep your mast tall
your sails full
let each day come billowing
you are their captain:
receive them
then let them go
each one is a wave, as splendid
in its falling, as in its rise
If the little lost shark follows this advice it should be a full life for him.
I’m sure the big lost shark will find the same
beautiful. rather than ‘hold on tight’, it’s ‘let go’. but be there fully. what better lesson can there be?
Lovely…
Wow, such a profound poem – couldn’t get better advice.
Unbarnacled
You are the sleek new long boat
bright, bowed wood
buoyant and alive
waiting to slide back
to crystal fresh water
turquoise and clear.
You are waiting in safe harbour
unmarked and touched
only by the fret-work
in master splicing
scarphed, bevelled
grooved in mortise
and tenon joints.
You will sail to landscapes far
from those who love you most
meet languid Gaugin women
in Rousseau rich jungles
brace yourself in Turner storms
struggle in those wide Sargasso seas.
But then you will learn
to sharpen your bow
steady your stern
scrape your keel back
to barnacle free and sleek again.
© M.L.Emmett
This had every chance at being stale (as “life is like” type poems always are), but was beautiful instead! Nicely done.