#sailing poems on Hello Poetry

Benedict May 2018

Call it a yard, call it a shed,
That vessel grew up in bed,
With a covered head,
So that its frame did not get wet,
But better yet,
Many times,
Resins used were left to dry,
Into the cracks their poxys pry,
To amalgamate the creaking ply.

And only when the final *****,
Twists its way to something new,
To tie the lace of this floating shoe,
Still sitting under rusted roof;
When the metal files are swept away,
And the hazel mast accepts its stain,
By a whitened brush proclaimed,
Only then does she take her name.

For a day or two she’s left to linger,
Poised at the top of her sheltered slip,
A proud and shining ship,
Held in place by the gasping grip,
Of the steadfast holding line.

Her ivory sails lie week and flat,
And there is irony in that,
For a girl already waxed and named,
With canvas cut and metals tamed,
Perched there upon that ledge,
Has yet to take her newborn breath.

Through forward rings two ropes are thread,
To heave her from her resting bed,
Call it a yard, call it a shed,
Into the water below,
A world she does not yet know,
But there she is bound to go.

Soon her airtight helm will taste that salted swill,
Her rudders will shoulder the force of a thousand men,
And by her maker’s will,
She will not meet her end.

Bang,
Goes the steadfast holding line,
As the forward rope force applies,
Without a wince or a whine,
Does our vessel bid goodbye,
To her sheltered bed,
Call it a yard, call it a shed,

And with one final gracious bow,
Into the wet of the sea she ploughs.

#ship #sea #waves #woodwork #sailing #building #bow #vessel #goodbye #rite

Aa Harvey May 2018

Worthwhile

Worthwhile

Your smile is a sonic boom, it blows me away.
I didn’t have a wow moment,
There is no word that can say,
How amazed I was,
I was lost,
I was gone.
I ceased to exist and I was reborn eternally,
In a picture book image of our first encounter;
The second I realised your beautiful smile.
You stopped me being a doubter.
I hope I have found my divinity.
You are an angel for sure,
Because no other could shine so bright;
Try as they might.

If you blew a kiss a thousand ships would be launched
And I would be found on each of them,
Pining beneath every sail
And waiting to return to your beauty,
As soon as possible,
Without fail.
For I would break as you faded away,
But my heart you would keep with you.
It would remain beating,
For hope,
For the truth,
For love,
For you,
For one more chance to see your beautiful smile.
Mona has got nothing on you.

And if I never return to the land on which you walk,
Then I will only ever pass through endless doors,
So empty of desire, so full of second choices,
Extravagance useless,
Gone will be the memories.
For if I cannot love one hundred percent,
Then I am surely dead.
Such love is never truly worthy,
Of roses that float like ghosts in the centre of a cemetery,
Never falling or fading, just staying afloat like a life jacket,
Washed away on the waves of goodbye.
You are the air I need to breathe, I am a discarded crisp packet
And I will float wherever your words send me.
Whether that be stuck in thorny branches or flying high.
Up or down,
You set me free.

Within your centre, am I welcome to venture?
May I be so bold before I am in need of dentures?
You must invite me in if I am ever to enter.
Inside your heart I would be sure to find only diamonds,
Built to protect and last, in your voice I hear violins
And so you must keep yourself safe until you can truly be seen,
As I see you now in my dreams.
Holding me,
Kissing me,
Loving me,
Missing me.

And if it never becomes,
Then tear away the sun!
Pull the mountains asunder like thunder and bury me six feet under!
For life without beauty is not worth living.
A life without love is no life at all.
Life without you would only be worth keeping,
If there was a speck, of a morsel, of a chance at revival.
All things fall…

But then they rise once more…

And if sight-seers and seers became transfixed in your eyes,
They would surely elide all the lies, for they are the never-truths,
That could never be spoken to you.
Only love is welcome inside my heart.
I am surreal; you are a work of art.

All onlookers would not want to miss,
Something they could never have seen before!
Such a smile!
So beautiful!
So enamored am I with the lines that you draw;
I am all yours…
I am…
So yours…

All dreamers,
Would use all their effort,
To try and become kings;
Just to be rich enough to see your smile.
I hope you leave them dreaming.
For if they saw you, as I see now my Yen,
Then you would make all the broken hearts believe again.
You make life seem worthwhile.
The biggest secret you hide is your smile.

When the gone are once more at one with this place we call Earth,
They will find you, hopefully with me
And they will thank you,
For helping them to once more believe
And allowing them to find their own Her.

A pretender to the throne upon which you sit,
So they are welcome to take away all the fugazi,
For I would only sell my soul for an original print.
I’d rather be with you,
Than be lost to the empty vessels of those who just want me…

I think you need me, I know I need you.
I think we could be; I hope you do too.
I know if you could just speak, we could make it through.
I know, if you and I became happy,
We could be whatever you want us to be.

(C)2018 Aa Harvey. All Rights Reserved.

#attraction #love #beauty #sailing #heart #floating #dreams #me #drama #life

Neil Stewart McLeod May 2018

A Ship In A Bottle

It sits there on the sideboard
Or on the mantle shelf,
And after such a long time
You don’t notice it yourself.
But should you have a visitor
Or younger child come by
It will spark interest anew
And gasps of “Me oh my!”

It’s then the curious wonder
How the ship was put inside,
And where the opening’s concealed
And was it hard to hide?
And if you put it in there
How many times you tried?
And if it went in through the neck
How could it be so wide?

It’s then you tell the story
Of going to the store
To find a bottle of good clear glass
With a shape worth planning for.
Dimple Haig is famous,
Carduh’s pretty fair,
The first one is triangular,
The other one is square.

The bottle must be decanted,
When empty cleaned and dried,
And a careful measure taken
Of the dimensions inside.
It’s then you render drawings
Of the ship you want to make,
And plan out going backwards
Every step you’ll have to take.

First you carve the hull
Of wood with grain that’s fine,
Then step the masts with hinges
So they fold down in a line.
You add the sails and rigging,
Check how they’ll *****
When’s time to pull the halyards
Through the bottle’s neck.

It takes months to finish
Doing a little every night,
I had my children watching
And remarking at the sight.
They saw me put in plasticine
To mold and shape the ocean
And carve wave crests with a spoon
To give the water motion.

When at last the time is right
And everything is ready
You carefully set the ship upon
The sea and hold it steady.
Then pulling on each halyard
The sails are slowly raised
And those who watch the process
Stand enchanted and amazed.

My great grandfather sailed to New Zealand on a ship called the Wild Deer in 1872. I have always loved ships in bottles, and one day decided I would drain a pretty bottle of its contents and put the inspiration back inside. It took three months to complete the project.

#ship #in #*** #bottle #sailing #square #rigger

Jo Barber Apr 2018

A Family's Day at Sea

Glaciers, white and blue,
fill the spaces between me and you.
In a torn, faded photograph,
a happy family displayed
as they joke and laugh.

A mother's smile,
a father's firm grip
on that of his only daughter.
The gentle waves of water
and rocks the shade of emery,
lay the scene for this sweet, fleeting memory.
A brother pulls down ******* his hat,
the wind blowing it flat.

Each face a sweet montage of a life lived,
the wrinkled eyes showing all they've survived.

Father's dead now;
the mother holds her son,
their love an unspoken vow,
the likes of which
is broken now.

In this frozen photo, all of this remains unspoken -
a family of which I now have only this small token.

This poem was inspired by an old family photograph that I stumbled upon. Feedback is always appreciated. :)

#family #death #grief #estrangement #sea #water #sailing #rhyme #poetry

Lily O'Quinn Apr 2018

Dream of Adventure

I wish to go swimming, you and I
In the dark expanse we call night sky
I'll pick stars like flowers for your hair
And watch your eyes reflect the glare

And then we can sail across the tide
Open mouthed and glassy eyed
The moon our ship, we'll take the stern
As I guide you through each twist and turn

Hand in hand, we'll voyage the stars
Stretching down to brush the surface of Mars
I'll adorn your fingers with Saturn's rings
And catch distant Suns to be our playthings

Then at last we'll dive back in
Our smiles revealing the places we've been
I'm content with my feet touching the ground
For as long as I'm with you, I'm safe and sound.

#dream #adventure #swimming #sky #ship #sailing #stars #moon #sun #love

Hussein Dekmak Apr 2018

Sailing Into Her Sweet Smile

Sailing into her sweet smile, I wiped her two tears, embraced her longing, and watered her with one thousand unborn smiles!

Hussein Dekmak

Edited 2

#love #longing #smiles #tears #sailing

Kewayne Wadley Apr 2018

Towards The Horizon

When the tide was high
I loved to hang over the edge.
Rising and falling.
The gap widening then closing.
No longer visible to shore.
I'd lean over.
The wind thumping me in the chest.
My lips peeled in joy.
Well conditioned hair.
My fingers lost in wave after wave.
The sails filled in a gust.
My fingers folded between the current.
I a stow away.
Finding my way to the helm.
My hand lost in a sea of hair.
Sailing towards the horizon

#forher #playinginhair #sea #lostatsea #hair #abstract #sailing #fingers #ocean #infatuation

Sun Drop Apr 2018

Ship without a crew

Brutal repetition drives the nail into the skull.
Waves unending lap the rusted metal from the hull.
Spirit bends as bodies break, and all their oaths defied.
Sailing as a corpse, sinful temptations at your side.

Breathing in the brine to set your bleeding lungs aflame.
Soaking in the salt, repent, for you're the one to blame.
Exodus of virtue, lest we take all that remains.
Helter-skelter shelters offer reprieve from the pain.

Offer her your hand, with luck a knuckle will suffice.
Slice! Did that feel nice? Let's get that finger on some ice!
Live amongst the rats and let your sanity unfold.
Dig your grave, and maybe on the way you'll strike fool's gold.

#imagery #decay #ocean #sea #sailing

E McNamara Mar 2018

Edge of Dawn

The ocean spray of salt
The everlasting sounds of waves
The sand, a locked vault
The tide, an unforgiving grave

The sun rises at the edge
The memories so celestial
I take my loyal pledge
My heart a sailing vessel

Sea shells, colorful in sound
Sea life, beautiful in sight
A dream I’ve finally found
The sunset, a hypnotizing light

The airborne seagulls calling me to sink
The surf alluring a magical peace
My endeavors start to shrink
The stars turn to be my timepiece

#ocean #ships #sailing #seagulls #airborne #sink #sand #sea

E McNamara Mar 2018

Thoughts

My mind the ocean
Waves crashing, always changing.
Ships sinking,
Sitting on the ocean floor, forgotten.
Ships thriving,
Discovering new land, flourishing.
Ships sculpted,
Brand new, setting out to sea-
Freshly crafted.
The ships like my sailing thoughts,
Wandering.
Expanding.
Forgotten.

I love all opinions. Don't be shy to comment. Thank you!

#ships #sailing #sinking #thriving #ocean #mind #forgotten