Mike Turner's poem "Sailing On"

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Bio: Mike Turner is a songwriter and poet living on the US Gulf Coast. His original songs have received radio and streaming play in the US, UK, Ireland, Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. His latest release, “Colors and Hues,” is on major streaming platforms. Mike’s poetry has been published in numerous journals and anthologies; his book, “Visions and Memories,” was published in 2021 by Sweetycat Press.


Sailing On

 

I stare at a distant horizon

Seas a deep midnight blue

Flecked with emerald and turquoise

Tipped with ivory foam

Moving, constantly changing

A waft of salt air tickling my nostrils

 

Looking up, I see vast planes of white

Canvas reaching to the heavens

Main, foresail, staysail, jib

Arching and bellowing, filled with wind

Driving the schooner onward

The bows rising and falling as we race ahead

 

Beneath my feet, teak decks roll with the swells

Further below solid oak beams and frames groan with strain

Pine planks reverberate with each crash of the waves

While aloft, lines of cotton and linen creak and snap, stretched to their extremes

Holding masts upright, spars in check

Supporting, controlling, pulling our craft forward

 

In that action, all elements are in accord

Sea and sails and hull united in common purpose

A singular effort to transport captain and crew and cargo

Across the ocean, around the world

Taking us from where we have been

To whence we are meant to be

 

Call it what you will

Fate, karma, kismet

Luck, beauty, song

Destiny

For all these things are contained

In the sea which sustains us

And the vessel that carries me 

Onward


© 2022 Mike Turner

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