We found the boat above the shore

We found the boat above the shore

            buried in the weeds;

we found the boat above the sea

            covered in debris.

A giant wave had lifted it

            high up into the trees;

the boat had floated down the line

            and rested in the weeds.

Eons of time had come and gone

            and men had done their deeds;

while through all time the boat had sat,

            filled with nature’s seeds.

No path to walk to find the boat

            hidden in the weeds;

pure chance, perhaps, caused us to slip

            among the slender reeds.

We placed our hands upon its bow

            and dragged it from the weeds;

we tore our clothes to make its sail

            far from the thick debris.

We sewed our clothes to make it sail

            upon a glassy sea;

we watched the boat sail from the shore

            toward the open sea,

            toward the open sea.

On Saturday, Eileen Knowles over at The Scenic Route had a post entitled “Romancing the Heart of Stone.” This line caught my attention: “Beauty awakens by romance.”

The post included a video by Rend Collective, a group that have been around for a fe years, but this my first experience with their music. I loved the song, and Eileen’s post plus the song gave birth to the poem above – old-fashioned, to be sure, and rather reeking of the 19^th century. But it was great fun to write.

The poem is dedicated to Eileen.

Photograph by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission