...it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge
would have strong encouragement to hold firmly
to the hope set before us."
Hebrews 6:18
Some parents fortify, supporting kids
to stay on top when testing waters’ depth.
Great expectations, ends, ev’n enemies,
are God's Supply, the wind and weight of wings.
A worthy teacher who embraces life
communicates those skills which stay the storms
for fledgling sailors, novice on their course.
God’s Sacred Scriptures give sound teaching scope.
A mentor stands as aide to steady growth
for doubting deckhands who can misconstrue.
Wise lessons bear resolve for hasty choice
when God's own Spirit is the mainstay - truth.
An anchor is one worthy of belief,
whose balance holds the navigator’s trust-
that hope which guardsmen put in pilot’s hand
God's Son, that Anchor, yea my Cornerstone.
Categories:
deckhands, 11th grade, growing up,
Form: Blank verse
Love was in the wrong places
Out of luck, there'd none at all
Veered cross his eyes on faces
Ebbed men and numbers to call
Twilight drops an altered star
A Shephard field of lept sheep
Knight, armor, pixie friends bar
Ensues shambles wakes asleep
Time's that love takes a ferry
Id's was naught the main issue
Might next time there's no hurry?
'Ewes then fairies they'd won't do.
Thistles caught tweed bows untied
He'd seen somebody, seemed sold
Anyone, mind-freeze, shame; pride
Night shows, fine cuisine, digs gold.
Cautious, his are bottomless
And hers, plainly cupboard bare
Snaps, lest he'd be penniless
He'd share the ring. Ring bearer
'Tis times like this, hopeless
Help's on course, though bit too late
Entertain the senselessness
Need your eyes fixed seize your fate
Cruise control seems storm ahead
All deckhands, drop anchor --goal
Raised sails, prep boarding, unwed
Divorce, tagged chief walls, single
Categories:
deckhands, analogy, appreciation, destiny, innocence,
Form: Parallelismus Membrorum
Wind filled sails drives his command,
A salty breeze chisels his face.
The crew obeys his every demand,
Master of the sea stands in his place.
Sailing South to all virgin lands,
Heading's true and steering straight.
Ship is cradled in starlit hands,
With fertile dreams at Heaven's gate.
No tempest will dissuade his course,
A swashbuckler oh so bold.
Guided by unnatural force,
To fill his coffers full of gold.
All deckhands will now prepare,
Adventure on the open seas.
While searching for islands fair,
Perchance to do as they please.
Lookouts spy a distant ship,
Crew stands firm to do their duty.
Now with sword strapped to the hip,
A plan to seize pirate's booty.
Alongside black sail moving fast,
All fall silent as cannons roar.
A fatal shot strikes the mast,
Skull and crossbones sail no more.
With victory that tastes so sweet,
On their way to a lavish coast.
Tahitian beauties soon to meet,
The part that they all love the most.
Rum filled shipmates sigh relief,
Back to sea no more to roam.
With gold and jewels beyond belief,
This Captain steers a course back home.
Categories:
deckhands, adventure, beach, beauty, courage,
Form: Rhyme
Wind sweeps down the side of the mountain
Crosses tracks and flings itself across the river,
First slapping against the sides of the tugboats
Causing the deckhands to shiver and curse
As they check the lashing between the barges,
Several days before they reach the sun
And longer still before arriving at the delta,
In the meantime, they work as fast as they can
with pea coats fastened against oncoming blasts
Of bitter chill, and careful avoiding icy patches
On the walkways of the behemoths they tame
Young men romanticize working on the river,
Unaware of the dangers, seems an easy job.
They do not know of bodies mangled, crushed
Chain unhitched, a single misstep, a sudden jerk
When least expected, pay beneficiaries for a life.
written December 9, 2021
Categories:
deckhands, boat, death, river, work,
Form: Free verse
The wheel of the ship
spinning 'round
out of control, the
captain below deck
spitting vitriol, first
mate and deckhands
at loose ends, no
orders or goal...
all coming undone
beached on a
barren rocky atoll
Categories:
deckhands, allegory, boat, confusion, leadership,
Form: Rhyme
Saint Jude himself couldn't stop
the spinning chariot wheels
of all my lost causes,
but I have this self-help book
that I keep at my elbow;
one day I'll read it.
Occasionally I take a trip
in a metaphysical fishing ship
with fellow deckhands.
Naturally the talk turns to purpose,
the art of being rescued,
and charging through icebergs.
None of my crew
has a clue,
or even know how to fish,
but we all have this passion
for drowning.
Categories:
deckhands, poetry,
Form: Blank verse
With a big gash on her side still no one thought she'd sink
In wanting to enjoy the ride such things they didn't think
The alarms had been sounded with lifeboats at the ready
Yet thinking it was unfounded as the boat remained steady
The crew began calling out for everyone to enter a craft
But most of them still had doubt as some even laughed
Again and again they tried to save even just one more
They all stood side by side not knowing what's in store
Time after time, chance after chance they chose to stay
Committed to that stance even up to their very last day
As the ship now tilted many then soon began to realize
Like a blossom that had wilted from a deckhands' eyes
As if in calling out to you, somehow someway you'd see
All these alarms are true even if you yourself don't agree
You felt and heard that noise surely everything isn't right
As yet another lifeboat deploys drifting off into the Light
Categories:
deckhands, absence, age, america, analogy,
Form: Rhyme