Take your ship out to sea
and bring laurels blessed with holly
on this journey to unearth treasure troves
hidden in the gossamer waves
Let your flag sail high in wind
and crane your neck high
among floods that rage
in endless sickness and fledgling health
Chests of gems and gilded bands
await at the edge
miles numbering thousands
unfettered to all but time
Rally your spirits and hang them by the sails
so passing shipmen may see
the bones upon this watery hull
and chant for boundless Someday
Storms await and creep like snakes
through flumes of silver clouds
the tears they wring rocks the fleet
and dyes dry skin vermilion
Famine prays to fish for food
while brine coats the shattered deck
parched crewmen beg to die in sandy oases
surrounded by undrinkable water
Promises and tears the only drinks
now pain tattooed to flesh
gold glows neither in caves
nor does it shimmer in light
However many years pass as eternities
brighter dreams mark crystal soils
and platinum trees plump with diamond fruit
float atop the promised land
Though the ship has weathered shattered frame
and dried blood lines your chest
the anchor dives through watery shore
and cries through salt land **
Sands crunch loud underfoot
like God's soft muse skies hum
no treasure lies here but an ashen tree
and the whispering wind begins to cry
my fortunate babe, you've arrived
Jul 11, 2017
Jul 11, 2017 at 9:30 PM UTC
Take your ship out to sea
and bring laurels blessed with holly
on this journey to unearth treasure troves
hidden in the gossamer waves
Let your flag sail high in wind
and crane your neck high
among floods that rage
in endless sickness and fledgling health
Chests of gems and gilded bands
await at the edge
miles numbering thousands
unfettered to all but time
Rally your spirits and hang them by the sails
so passing shipmen may see
the bones upon this watery hull
and chant for boundless Someday
Storms await and creep like snakes
through flumes of silver clouds
the tears they wring rocks the fleet
and dyes dry skin vermilion
Famine prays to fish for food
while brine coats the shattered deck
parched crewmen beg to die in sandy oases
surrounded by undrinkable water
Promises and tears the only drinks
now pain tattooed to flesh
gold glows neither in caves
nor does it shimmer in light
However many years pass as eternities
brighter dreams mark crystal soils
and platinum trees plump with diamond fruit
float atop the promised land
Though the ship has weathered shattered frame
and dried blood lines your chest
the anchor dives through watery shore
and cries through salt land **
Sands crunch loud underfoot
like God's soft muse skies hum
no treasure lies here but an ashen tree
and the whispering wind begins to cry
my fortunate babe, you've arrived
I'd like to think this poem is about the struggles of aspirations. The floundering steps toward unreachable goals gilded by our flawed expectations. We are like shipmen, floating perpetually toward a distance that may never come, losing much along the way in pursuit of an ideal future. But often, reality is something else entirely. It is up to you to decide what this reality means, and whether or not it is worth the price.
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