The Seafarer’s Knot

“Seafarer,
where are you?
Are you near?
I can’t hear your call…
over the din
of my sails whipping.”

In truth, my sails
were ripping.
Shredded, tattered,
wind-torn, though,
it hardly matters.

“Ah, the wind…
my oldest friend.
No – Nemesis.
It begins,
my story, that is,
with a careless journey,
deep within.”

Blue glass,
the sea shone
like a mirror
to Old Sun’s soul.
I hope he liked
what he saw.
Yet, I,
trapped like a midge,
or fly,
on the blazing surface
of his reflected eye.

Burn…

“How long have I floated
in this quiet place?
Internal Sea,
salty, deep…
abyssal things,
primordial creatures,
dive deeper
than I can see.
Born under the Cancer-stars,
I felt it safe to be here,
at sea.”

I was mistaken.

“Exile suits me.”

My eldest refrain
remains
the Seafarer’s Knot,
unraveled,
strained against the wind,
my grip,
and fear of the pain.
I went inside,
so deep within,
seeking safe harbor
to launch again.
To begin
a peaceful journey toward
Seas’ End.

“I chose poorly.
The wind that sent me,
rent the sails
and bent me
over the rails,
to spew and retch
against the seagulls’ wails.
Then the wind was gone…”

I was trapped,

alone

in my sea.
Lonely and starving,
I watched the stars,
hoping that this
wasn’t what it felt like

to be free.