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I’ve entered the Inner Passage

Thought of as the safe route to Alaska
Protected by friendly coves and sheltered bays
Shields voyagers from the uncertainties
Of the tectonics of a heaving Pacific

The Inner Passage
A compass point of
Jack London’s imagination
Spinning fantastic adventure yarns
of audacious Sea Wolf sailors
And rugged fortune seekers
Answering the call of the wild

The Inner Passage
Fraught with hidden shoals
And submerged rocky promontories
Lay just below the water line
Jutting on the steep banks
Of a glaciated mountain lined sea

The Inner Passage
Precludes an easy escape
To the boundless freedom
Of the open seas
One cannot sail away
One must firmly
grab the wheel
Guide the rudder
map the terra firma
Of a misconstructed life
The hazards and mishaps
Buried in the unconscious sands of the mind
interred to protect the heart
From the walking ghosts
Springing to life
Emboldening
The daily aches of living

The Inner Passage
Seemingly the safe route
Yet the hidden shoals
The ship wrecks
crews of stranded castaways
Call out for recovery, resurrection,
Watchfulness and recognition
Careful navigation is required
To salvage the wreckage
Rescue the unfortunate victims
Of the disasters and gales
I engendered along
my life's journey

The Inner Passage
A promise of rebirth
Reconstitution, recovery
“Can a man enter the womb again?”
The Gospel writer asks.
This inner passage may yet
Deliver me to a reinvigorated life
Let me uncover
What lies deep
In my tell tale heart
Let me tame
the mighty beasts of the sea
That rule the fathomless waters
Of my tumultuous emotions
May Thy Will and a better course
Heal my restive soul
My I finally free
my grounded vessel
From the false sanctuary
Offered by shallow shoals
Freeing me to dive deep
Into the hidden reefs
Of my heart and mind

May this pilgrim make good progress
May I accept life on life's terms
May I practice a well considered
engaged stewardship
May I never arrive at a staid place
And become wholesomely satisfied
with a serene state of being

The Inner Passage
Indeed a difficult voyage
Is underway
a new course mapped
I will pass through
The dark ranges where the
Commanding heights of
Fear, anger, resent and regret
Become nothing more
Then the precipitous peaks
Of a harmless silhouette
Fading away into the mist
Of yesterday's twilight

The Inner Passage
Aboard the Kennicott
Near Ketchikan, AK
8.22.19
jbm

Michael Nyman
The Piano
a note made on the Kennicott...
Ike E Davis Dec 2019
She was free traveling
From LA
Up the west coast
To the AK
There was no hurry
No real plan
Visiting friends
On route to
Ketchikan


(Chorus)


Along the coast lines
Most of the time
The dreamy sunsets
The waves talking in ryhme
Bonfires at night
Strong breeze all day
While on her journey to the AK


She left nothing behind
Just her mother's memories
She never thought of her father
While on escapes like these
She never looked back
Just moved constantly
To the  last frontier
Called  the AK


(Chorus)
Along the coast line
Most of the time
The dreamy sunsets
The waves talking in ryhm
Bonfires at night
A strong breeze all day
Along her journey to the AK


When she arrived
She went to my cafe
That's when I met
Her in the AK


She told me about the coast lines
(Remaing chorus)
Most of the time
The dreamy sunsets
The waves talking in ryhm
The bonfires at night
The strong breezes at day
And her arrival at the AK

— The End —