Back turned to back on the shivering hull
Captain declared for the anchor annulled
The old shore grew shy under asthmatic skies
And wind caught the sails as we watched its demise.

The shanties drew thin, about two hours in
Whistling fell limp 'til curled up in the din
Was a specter of that which I seldom denied:
A brother or two whom my stern face belied.

I would not leave this outline to flicker and fade
Carried by waves as mine own Mother prayed:
"If his life is cut short on the edge of the stern
God, we will find you. We will make sure you burn."

Weeks stumble by, clocks rusting by sea
And if their hands turn, they turn onto me
With reminders of blades which have long since been drawn
And the broken tree branch blooming souls in the dawn.

I've seen reflections of self in the constellation-black:
My sister rides in on the Phoenix's back
My brothers, the Gemini; two halves of a whole
And Mother Andromeda, the Queen of it all.

Ship edging near to the end of the Earth
A convict by trade but a human by birth
Tallying up days by the marks on my back
Lashings for supper and now I've lost track

And so no matter how far this old boat can sail
I'd swim 'round the world 'til my lungs twice do fail
To return to the place where the bed doesn't move
And the waves do not push like they've something to prove

*

In a week and a day I would jump overboard
Bypass the plank that the crew so adored
In a few short seconds I would make it back home
An under-sea shortcut to Our Family's Gloam.