My Ship

MY SHIP I have a ship. A beautiful ship! Big and brown With white sails and a mast that touches the sky from ground. With a dock that could hold ten thousand sailors As they work Yet I am not the captain of my ship My ship captains me I have a ship A beautiful ship I named her Olivia After my uncle’s wife She was a good woman Who lived a virtuous life My ship rocks me back and forth like a chair When I am in despair Then I lie in the gentle arms of Morpheus It is obvious I was asleep My ship whispers into my ears My son it is well Or was it the wind? I cannot tell I observed the night skies With my naked eyes While sitting on the deck of my ship And each star tells a different story Some of the fall of men And others of their glory I have a ship Though I am not her captain And every voyage I take I get younger for certain As if I was baptized in the Youth’s fountain On my way back I stumbled on a giant named Jack Who threatened to destroy my ship! But he could not We fought And his might could not match mine As he thought I have a ship An enchanted ship That can grant men what their heart desires An immortal ship that cannot be destroyed by fire Except she burns herself In a funeral pyre To make way for a younger and newer ship My ship thinks and feel like a man Even bust into laughter When I tell her a story about Peter Pan A young man who refuses to grow Flies like a sparrow And crows I have a ship A beautiful ship Sometimes I feel I am not the captain of my ship My ship is flung around by the tempest at sea My ship says to me Just let it be Soon the angry waves will abate You just have to wait For in destiny lies Destiny’s eyes Which knows and control the fates of men And then Sometimes I know I am not the captain of my ship I work hard but money starts to slip With plans made and prayers prayed I know I will be the captain of my ship By Olusegun Akanbi